The Wizard Returns
by dutchtulips
Summary: HP / The Mummy Returns crossover, with Ron as our strapping hero Rick O'Connell, and lovely 'Mione as the intellectual Evie. . .and. . .who else? read on to find out. . .(chapter 8 up)
1. Footnotes

Okay, first of all, as to not waste time in the forwarding chapters, I thought I'd put all of the little tidbits of info here, whom is whom, what is what, what stands for what and where is what place which coincides with it . . .and all of that jazz. so here we go. as if you won't already figure it out but, the HP characters are in regular typeface and the MR characters are in **bold.**

Characters ~

Ron Weasley 

****

Rick O'Connell

Hermione Granger Weasley / Princess Maricarmen 

****

Evelyn Carnahan O'Connell / Princess Nefertiri

Jordan Weasley (Ron and Hermione's son)

****

Alex O'Connell (Rick and Evie's son)

Fred and George Weasley

****

Jonathan Carnahan (Evie's brother)

Harry Potter

****

Ardeth Bay

Seamus Finnigan

****

Izzy

Jaakko 

****

Imhotep

Pansy Parkinson / Cat-a-la-lina (Jaakko's reincarnated lover)

****

Meela / Anck-su-namun (Imhotep's reincarnated lover)

Draco Malfoy

****

Lock-Nah

Severus Snape

****

the Curator (Mr. Hafez)

Macnair, Pettigrew, & Karkaroff

****

Red, Spivey, and Jacques

the Dragon King

****

the Scorpion King

Minister Leopold

****

Pharaoh Seti

Hedwig the Owl (Harry's courier bird)

****

Horus the Falcon (Ardeth's courier bird)

Stuff that's Not Characters ~

The Bracelet of Arana

****

The Bracelet of Anubis

The Oasis of Yané Seek

****

The Oasis of Ahm Shere

The Scepter of Ibis

****

The Scepter of Osiris 

The Army of Arana

****

The Army of Anubis

well, that's about all for now. any other stuff that comes up, I'll add later. hugsXX, ~dt.


	2. Temple Of Doom

SD ~ everything you recognize from HP belongs to Madame Rowling, and everything you recognize from TMR belongs to Stephen Sommers and Universal Studios. all else is mine.

AN ~ okay, first and foremost, I _love_ "The Mummy Returns" and, of course, I love R/Hr fics. the similarities between Rick and Evie and Ron and Hermione were uncanny (okay, maybe only to me) so I knew I had to take a shot doing this. so the story's probably going to sound pretty winded, I'm sure - but hell, it's my first crossover, and it's. . .a crossover, so. . .you know how weird they _are_. LOL. 

The Wizard Returns

-dutchtulips-

Thebes, Egypt. Within the ancient city lay the stone ruins of an ancient temple, which was very ancient indeed. It had been there since around 1280 B.C., and the design itself had been overseen by the Grand Priest of Ibis, High Wizard of Zorba - Lord Jaakko. However, he had betrayed Minister Leopold, and his memory banished from the wizard kingdom. Now in modern times could the temple's majesty only be imagined.

Deep within the temple, in the catacombs, was Ron Weasley. His eyes piercing, and his nerves alert, Ron walked through the catacombs, his wand pointed out in front of him. He had the collar of his robes open, and was quietly creeping along through the temple corridor.

__

This place is creepy. . .how'd I let 'Mione talk me into coming here? Ron thought, peering in the darkness ahead of him. Suddenly there was a noise, and his fingers tightened around his wand. _All right, this place is possessed. . .time to get the family and go. _

But then it was quiet and tranquil again. Ron shrugged to himself, turned back around, and suddenly let out a terrified yell, having come face to face with another person. . .

. . .Who fell to the sandy floor, and grinned up at him. 

Ron blinked, and took in a quick breath. "J-Jordan?"

The young boy let out a laugh. "What were you thinking, Dad? Someone had come back to life?"

Ron shook his head dismissedly. "Reading too many books. Just like your mother." He pocketed his wand. "What are you doing down here? I told you to wait for us up in the anteroom."

"But Dad - I saw your tattoo!" Jordan exclaimed, clamping his fingers to his father's wrist, pulling up the sleeve of Ron's robes to reveal the tattoo of a phoenix's wings forming a pyramid in the center with a large eye. "There's a cartouche just like it, above the doorway!"

"Really?" Ron questioned.

The auburn boy beamed. "Uh huh!"

"Well, er. . .all right. I'll be up to look at that in a minute. Get back to the anteroom and I'll meet you in there later, all right?" He said.

Jordan started to protest. "But Dad, I don't - I want to go with you - "

"No buts, Jordan! It's dangerous down here! Now get your rucksack and go." Ron gripped his son's shoulder and spun him around, back the way he'd come.

The young boy reluctantly went. "W-what should I do?"

"Surprise me," Ron replied hastily, taking out his wand again. "Learn a new spell -" he dropped his voice, heading in the opposite direction, " - while your mother desecrates another tomb."

~*~

Deeper in the tomb, beyond the catacombs, there was another person. Young, slim, and extremely pretty, Hermione Granger Weasley could have passed for an ancient princess herself. She took out a brush and was delicately clearing away cobwebs and dust from a massive obsidian door, revealing the cartouches of two princesses, locked in hand-to-hand combat. 

Hermione was suddenly distracted by a hissing noise, and looked down to see a slender black snake uncoiling itself next to her foot. Instead of being afraid, she put on a look of disgust and hooked the creature under her toe. "Go away!" She spat, sending the serpent flying across the room.

Ron, who had come upon her, suddenly ducked out of the way as the snake sailed straight towards him. Smirking, he suddenly remarked, "You wanna watch it with those things. They're poisonous, you know."

She turned around. "Only if they bite you." Hermione veered back to the door, clearing away the dust with her hand now. "Did I hear you and Jordan talking up there?" 

"Yeah. . ." Ron replied, hefting over a few magical tools. "He was wanting to show me something. I swear, he gets more and more like you everyday. Books, studies. . ."

"Don't you mean more handsome, devilishly charming. . ." Hermione mused, a smirk on her face.

"I know, and it's driving me bonkers." Ron leaned forward and kissed her. "Ready to smash this thing?"

"No, we'll do it the right way," Hermione replied, taking out her wand. "_Alohamora!"_ She cried, waving it at the door. The massive obsidian jiggled for a moment, and then ceased from moving.

Ron looked over at her. She sighed. "All right, all right, fine. We'll do it your way." 

He grinned and raised his own wand, shouting out, "_Toluenous!_" With that, the door smashed apart, leaving room for them to enter.

Hermione fearlessly stepped through ahead of her husband, a look coming over her face. "This place is all I've been able to think about - since I've started having the dreams."

Ron landed hard on the sandy floor, crunching old bugs underneath his boots with every step he took. "And ever since that first dream, I haven't had a decent night's sleep since!"

There was a moment of quiet as Hermione glanced around the cavern. "I've been here before. . ."

Ron shook his head. "Impossible."

"Ron, dear, I _know _I've been here before!" She exclaimed.

"A place that no one's been in for around three thousand years?" He was bewildered. "You're mad!"

Hermione suddenly reached out, latching onto an ancient torch holder, and pulled. Suddenly a door behind her slid open. "Then how do I seem to know exactly where I'm going, and what I'm doing?"

Ron didn't seem to have an answer. He peered into the dark doorway, and whispered, "_Lumos!_" The end of his wand immediately lit up and pointed into the next cavern. He looked back at his wife. "Okay, you're starting to scare me, 'Mione."

"Yes, and I'm starting to scare myself." 

~*~

Beneath the boiling desert sun, three men rode up towards the temple on horseback, just beyond a large sand dune. Their leader - Macnair, tall and burly, was clutching his wand. He stared at the temple for a moment, and then motioned to the other two men, Pettigrew and Karkaroff. The trio slowly dismounted, and wormed their way inside the temple. 

Waving his wand around, Jordan Weasley was sitting atop a large stone within the anteroom, surrounded by piles of artifacts his parents had dug up earlier. He was looking from a book and mumbling to himself. "What's the charm? _Laun Chem, _something or other. . ."

A sudden noise caused Jordan to stir from his reading. Looking up, he saw shadows moving along the wall. Not thinking twice, he shoved the book into his rucksack and threw it on. Pocketing his wand, Jordan climbed up a nearby scaffolding to hide.

A few minutes later, Macnair, Pettigrew and Karkaroff stumbled in. Looking around for a moment, Macnair pulled out his wand and said, "You two pick through that stuff. See if you can find that bracelet. I'm going to go sort out the Weasleys."

Jordan gasped.

~*~

Ron and Hermione stepped into the next cavern. They held out their wands, which were still aglow, to survey the room. There was another massive door at the other end, this one with a wheel shaped like a sundial on it. Hermione began to walk further inside, after Ron. . .

__

. . .Suddenly Hermione's view of the room had changed with the flicker of her wand. The small alcove was abruptly new again, hieroglyphics adorning the walls colorful and vivid, golden furnishings sparkling beautifying what was clearly an antechamber. A pretty young woman, a shapely Egyptian witch in headdress and lots of jewelry, moved through the doorway ahead. Inside, Hermione just managed to glimpse two guards standing on either side of a small ornate golden chest. The Egyptian witch heaved the door closed and locked it, twisting the sundial mechanism - five turns to the right and seven to the left - and pushed it inwards. Suddenly Ron appeared in the vision, walking through the young woman as if she were a ghost!

. . .and then Hermione was standing in the dark, ancient antechamber again, the hieroglyphics faded and golden furnishings vanished. She blinked for a few moments, and then began feverishly waving her wand around.

Ron, who was standing in front of the door, shouting various spells at it, turned and looked at his wife's odd behavior. Ceasing from his work, he said, "What're you doing? Trying to write your name in the air?"

Hermione paused, returning his look. "I'm trying to make it happen again. . . .this room, I saw it differently. It was as if I was actually here in ancient times."

Ron lowered his wand. "Well, if you really _were_ here, could you show me how to open this thing? I think there's an Unbreakable Charm on it."

"Sure," she replied, absentmindedly reaching forward and twisting the sundial lock - five turns to the right and seven to the left - and pushed it inwards. 

There was a loud rumbling as the door shook, and began to creak open. Ron waved his wand in through the doorway. "Okay, now you are _really_ starting to scare me."

~*~ 

Jordan lay on his stomach on the scaffolding, peeking over the edge and down at Pettigrew and Karkaroff, who were mumbling to themselves as they rummaged through the artifacts. A sudden thought occurred to him and, quietly, he quietly stole a look inside his rucksack and in his book. His finger skimmed the page, and then he quickly replaced it and pulled out his wand. 

Small piles of pebbles littered the sandy floor, where Jordan could see them from the scaffolding. He waved his wand at a pile and whispered, "_Expellarmius stone!_"

One of the pebbles flew from the pile and hit Pettigrew on the back of the neck. He yelped out in pain. "Cripes! Karkaroff, something just hit me head!"

Karkaroff pointed his wand at him. "Shut up, Pettigrew! This place is cursed."

~*~

Macnair poised in the doorway behind the Weasleys, extending his wand, ready to take care of business. But he paused, what they were doing becoming much more interesting.

Hermione pulled cobwebs away from a large gold disc. Her eyes went wide. "That's the emblem of the Dragon King!"

"Who?" Ron was puzzled.

She continued. "He's supposed to be pure myth. No trace of him has ever been found. No artifacts. . .no nothing."

"Reckon no one wanted him found," he answered.

Hermione looked down at the small golden chest before her. She gingerly touched it. "Ron, let's open it."

"I don't know. . ." He disagreed.

"Oh, come on. Where's your sense of adventure? It's just a chest -" Hermione flickered the light out on her wand and pointed it at the chest, "No harm ever came from a chest."

"Just remember - _I_ was the voice of reason this time around," he replied.

"For once." She started shouting various charms at the chest. 

Ron looked on as his wife tried to open the chest. None of the spells seemed to work. As Hermione sighed in disgust, Ron glanced to the side and saw, hanging off a decayed skeleton, a small golden key. It was also shaped like a sundial. Pulling it off the skeleton, he waved it at Hermione.

"Hon, let's do it your way."

She beamed, taking the key from his grasp, and fitting it in a sundial shaped hole on the front of the chest. Hermione twisted it to the right and the lid popped open with a loud hiss.

Meanwhile, Macnair, who was still behind them, looked on with wide eyes.

She looked down at the contents of the chest, astonishment filling her face. "The Bracelet of Arana. . ." Hermione whispered.

~*~

Jordan laughed softly to himself as he launched another stone at the unsuspecting Pettigrew, which hit him in the hindquarters. He let out a yell, and started doing an unusual dance around the cavern. "Ow, ow, ouch! That damn thing hurt!"

"Shut up and get back to work!" Karkaroff shouted at him. Pettigrew whined and turned back to the pile of artifacts, slowly beginning to sift through them again. 

Jordan waved his wand at a pile of stones again, and launched another straight for Karkaroff. But to his terror, Karkaroff spun around and caught the rock in midair. Grinning evilly up at Jordan, he crumbled the stone into dust. 

The young boy gathered his rucksack and scrambled backwards on the scaffolding, a mouse with no hole to hide in. 

~*~

Hermione was fingering the thick golden bracelet when suddenly there was a loud rumbling. She jerked up, and lobbed the bracelet back into the chest and slammed it shut.

"Well, it's a bit late for that, don't you think?!" Ron yelled over the loud thundering, batting away sand that was streaming in from the ceiling.

She lifted the chest. "Hurry! Put this in your rucksack!" 

He pushed it back. "Why don't we just leave it here!"

There was another loud crash, and from behind them, Macnair turned and ran.

"What does it say?" Ron was shouting.

Hermione ran her finger quickly along the lid of the chest. "He who. . .disturbs this chest shall. . .drink from the Nile." Pause. "Well, that doesn't sound too bad."

As if on cue, the wall just ahead of them burst, streaming in thousands of gallons of water. Ron stuffed the chest away and grabbed his wife's hand. "Time to go!" He yelled, and the bolted out of the alcove and back through the catacombs.

~*~

Meanwhile, Karkaroff was climbing up the scaffolding to where Jordan was, holding his wand between his teeth. The young boy jerked around, trying to find another way off the scaffolding, but to no avail.

Pettigrew was yelling up at him. "Karkaroff's going to make a fillet out of you, boy!"

Suddenly, Macnair came sprinting into the cavern. "Pettigrew! Karkaroff! Let's get the hell out! This place is going down!"

Karkaroff took one last look at Jordan, and then slid down the scaffolding. Waving his wand at it, he yelled out a spell, and the scaffolding's legs cracked. "Au revoir!" He yelled, and tore out of the room.

Suddenly the scaffolding tipped, taking young Jordan with it. Grabbing onto a nearby pillar, he watched as it fell against another, and then another, creating the domino effect as every pillar in the room tipped and hit the next one.

Climbing off, Jordan, who was now covered in dust and his auburn hair askew, looked around at the now-demolished chamber and uttered, "Whoa."

~*~

While the pillars had been tumbling, Ron and Hermione were dashing to keep ahead of the gushing waters behind them. " 'Mione, this way!"

Then they hit a dead end. Ron's heart was thumping madly in his chest as he looked around for a detour out. Suddenly he heard Hermione yelling out his name. 

"_Ron_!"

Not stopping to think, he grabbed onto his wife as a gigantic wall of water splashed over them. Under the water, Ron waded ferociously against the current, pulling Hermione with him. All of a sudden, he noticed a large grate above them. Latching his and Hermione's hands on it, he pulled them up and to a few feet of air.

"This is bad, 'Mione!" He spluttered.

"We've had bad plenty of times!" She called back.

Before he could answer, the water pulled them back underneath again.

~*~

A loud groaning noise suddenly alerted Jordan and jerked around. One of the large pillars was falling down further, ready to smash into the adjacent wall. The young boy sprinted for the pillar and tried vainly to push it back. But it weighed thousands more than he did, and it won the battle. It crashed into the obsidian wall with such force that it shattered both the pillar and the wall. 

Water came gushing out, and Jordan ran to escape it, shrieking all the way. Watching the vast stream, he saw two figures sliding out of the wall, in the water. Sighing relief, he raced forward to where Ron and Hermione lay, soaked to the bone and fighting for breath.

Jordan looked around for a moment, and then down at his parents. "Mum. . .Dad. . .I can explain _everything_."

~*~ 

To Be Continued


	3. Party At The Weasley Mansion

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter two

-dutchtulips-

Floodlights swept across a desert dig at Necropolis, illuminating the one-hundred or so native diggers who were tunneling in the sand. Among the dark robed wizards, there was their leader - Severus Snape, overseeing their work. In dark garments like the diggers, he did not look pleased.

Just beyond him, under a lean-to, stood Draco Malfoy, regal and fierce, and in the same dark robes. Slowly, hypnotically, he lowered an obsidian book on the table. An evil smirk washed over his face. "_The Book of the Dead_ gives life."

A tall woman with long dark hair, Pansy Parkinson, appeared in the lean-to, hefting a golden book with her. Slamming it down next to _The Book of the Dead_, she said, "And _The Book of the Living_. . .takes life away."

Malfoy looked over at her with shady eyes. "I thought that was _my_ job."

Pansy did not answer. She stared at the two books, a wicked gleam in her eye. "We're getting close."

Just then, a car approached, trudging through the sand. It stopped right in front of Snape, and Macnair, Pettigrew, and Karkaroff got out. "Did you acquire it?" Snape immediately asked.

A sudden rumbling noise shook the dig site, causing a silence to wash over everyone. Snape turned around and approached a nearby dig spot, which was filled with diggers, who were all staring at a rising mound in the sand. It grew higher and higher, until it burst, expelling hundreds of scarab beetles. 

Pansy looked on as they swarmed over the diggers. After the beetles had been transfigured away, she turned back to Draco, grinned and said, "We're getting _very_ close." She and Malfoy hefted _The Book of the Dead_ and left the lean-to.

A loud cheering from across the dig site broke the silence, and the diggers raced over to where a large shroud of stone was being excavated from a deep hole in the sand. Snape turned to Pansy and Malfoy, who had just approached him. "We've found him! We've found him!" 

The three of them raced towards the stone and Snape examined it for a moment, inside of it clearly the remains of a mummified corpse. He turned to Pansy and said, "It's him! It's Jaakko!"

Pansy stepped closer and waved her hand over the shroud, an enigmatic smile on her face. 

The moment was broken by Macnair, Pettigrew, and Karkaroff, who pushed through the remainder of the diggers and approached Snape, who asked once more, "Did you acquire it?"

"Well, the opportunity passed us by," Macnair said.

"We need that bracelet," Snape said coldly.

"And we need it _before_ it opens!" Malfoy spat, drawing his wand.

Abruptly, the three mercenaries and Snape's minions all raised their wands and scimitars, ready to strike. Pansy stared at them all for a moment, and then said disgustedly, "Enough!"

Everyone lowered their weapons. She turned to Snape and said, "My dear Severus, I _told_ you I should have _handled_ it!"

He turned to her. "I did not want your. . .past history. . .to cloud the issue."

Pansy stepped in. "Where _is_ the bracelet?" She demanded of the three mercenaries.

"It's on it's way to merry old London," Macnair answered. 

Snape pushed past the three men, Pansy and Malfoy following close by. "Then London is where we must go."

None of them saw, however, another man who had been standing nearby, who was watching them retreating now, with jet black hair and startling green eyes, wrapped up in deep robes. And this man's name was Harry Potter.

~*~

Dusk was washing over the exquisite Weasley manor as a sleek navy blue car pulled into the mansion's court, and came to a stop. Slowly, three people got out - Ron first in his common wizard robes, dark green this time, Hermione - sporting a simple dress of long white silk, lilac robe draped around her, and their young son Jordan - who had donned regular Muggle clothing of a khakis jacket and pants. 

Jordan, hefting a heavy rucksack, retreated the opposite way as his parents after stepping inside the house, and towards the direction of the library. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were heading upstairs to put their luggage away.

"I'm thinking that perhaps the bracelet is a guide. . .to the Lost Oasis of Yané Seek," Hermione said as they breezed through the upstairs corridor and into the study. 

Ron heavily sat their suitcases down at the staircase's landing and followed her inside, where she was picking through a bookshelf. " 'Mione. . .I know what you're thinking - and the answer is no. We just got home!"

"That's the beauty of it!" She exclaimed. "We're already packed!"

Ron put his hands on Hermione's shoulders and spun her around. "Just give me," he held up a finger, "one good reason."

She stared back at him. "It's just an oasis, dear. A beautiful, romantic oasis."

Ron tightened his grip around her. "You mean the kind with a white sandy beach, the palm trees swaying?" He grinned down at her.

"Sounds good," Hermione whispered, smiling back. 

"Sounds too good." He grabbed her shoulders again. "What's the catch?"

She shrugged. "Presumably it's the resting place of Arana's army."

Ron rolled his eyes. "See, I knew it. There's _always_ a bloody catch!"

Hermione left the study and started up towards the indoor balcony, Ron following her. "And supposedly it's lead by this Dragon King bloke?"

"Yes, according to my research. But he only he reawakens every five thousand years."

"And if he does wake up, he's going to wipe out the world! Same old story," Ron responded.

Meanwhile, Jordan had just placed the small golden chest on a table in the library, grunting, "Sucker weighs a bloody ton!"

"Jordan! Watch your language!" Hermione scolded up from the railing. 

He glanced up at her sheepishly, "Rather weighty, this."

From the balcony, Ron and Hermione were still talking. " 'Mione, you had that strange dream of yours exactly six weeks ago, right?" He was flipping the pages of a book.

"Well, yes, I think so," she answered. "But what has that got to do with anything?"

Ron waved the book her face. "Just happens to coincide with the Year of the Dragon - wizard Egyptian new year."

"I'm impressed. You've become quite the scholar," Hermione beamed.

Back in the library, Jordan had just turned around when he heard, from behind him, a sharp click from within the chest. Puzzled, he turned around and stared at the ornate gold trunk, and, after making sure his parents were not watching, pulled the sundial shaped key from his pocket and turned it in the lock.

With a soft hiss, it opened smoothly. Jordan slowly lifted the lid and looked inside. The Bracelet of Arana was lying there, only this time, its jaws were opened wide. He shrugged and lifted it out, and then placed it on top of his wrist. Suddenly it snapped shut with a loud click.

While this was going on, Ron was whispering to Hermione, "If anything happened to you or Jordan, I could never forgive myself."

"Well. . .I _have_ been asked to teach History of Magic at Hogwarts. . ." She murmured back.

He was holding her extra-close now. Staring into her deep brown eyes, he said, "Have I kissed you today?"

Hermione barely had time to nod her head before Ron had her wrapped up in a deep, passionate kiss, while down in the library, Jordan was experiencing something phenomenal. . .

. . ._A floating three dimensional diorama of the Giza plateau - three pyramids, the Sphinx. . .all newly minted and completely fresh looking. Jordan then felt himself racing across the Nile River, and then the vision swept over the desert, landing on the Temple of Karnac. . ._

. . .and then the vision seemed to slurp into the bracelet, disintegrating, disappearing, leaving Jordan with wide eyes, until, suddenly, he blinked, and looked down at the bracelet on his wrist. He started to struggle ferociously with it. "Cripes! How d'you get this stupid thing off?"

Thankfully for him, the large diorama was not seen by anyone besides himself, not his mom or dad, who were still up in the balcony. Ron had just broken off their kiss, grinning at her.

"I hate it when you do that. It makes me feel like agreeing to anything," Hermione told him.

"Really? Maybe I should do it more often," Ron replied, still grinning. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she had her head turned to the side, staring at an empty can on the table. 

"Who's been using daisy roots?" She inquired.

Ron looked at the can, and rolled his eyes. "My doting brothers. . .at it again. . ." he grumbled, letting go of Hermione. He looked down at Jordan in the library, and called out, "Hey Jordo, behave yourself for a few minutes, okay?" He retreated from the balcony.

"You betcha!" He called back.

~*~

Outside the large manor, two cars were pulling up in the court. One of the doors on the first car jerked open, and out stepped Malfoy, the rest of the car filled by his sinister minions.

~*~

In another part of the mansion, Fred and George Weasley were walking out of a nearby room, juggling empty cans of potion ingredients back and forth between them. 

"Oi, Fred!" George exclaimed. "You think the Exploding Candy potion's settled yet?"

"It's down in the refrigerator," Fred replied, missing a can of lacewings, it hitting him in the head. "Let's go take a look."

Before they could take another step further, four dark robed minions came hurtling towards them. Fred and George stared as the men pulled them into the next room and threw the twins into chairs.

Suddenly Snape appeared before them, staring them down.

"Hey," George said suddenly. "If you're here about that Filibuster we slipped in the Minister's soup. . . ."

"We are looking for the Bracelet of Arana," Snape said,, cutting him off.

"I see," Fred put in. "Good for you. Good thing to have, I'm sure."

"Then where is it?" Snape demanded.

"I assure you, we have no idea what you're talking about," Fred replied.

Two of the minions pulled out their scimitars and pressed them against the twins' necks. "Weasleys. . . .they sure do know how to WASTE MY TIME!" Snape yelled.

~*~

Meanwhile, Hermione was kneeling in front of her son, digging in his pockets. "I'm telling you, Jordan, if you've lost that key, I'm taking your wand away for a week."

"I just. . .can't find it, that's all! It's not exactly _lost_," he replied sheepishly.

"Well, you'd better get looking, then," she said.

"Good evening to you," a sinister voice behind them said.

Hermione turned around, automatically blocking Jordan from the intruder. Malfoy was standing in the doorway, wearing the same dark regal robes and a long cape, smiling maliciously. 

"What are you doing here? What do you want?" She said coldly. 

"I've come for the chest. Give it to me now." Malfoy stepped forward, just as Jordan grabbed the small golden trunk.

Hermione grabbed a scimitar from a nearby umbrella rack. "Get out of my house."

Five of Malfoy's minions stepped up behind him, scimitars all raised. "Now I will kill you and take the chest anyhow."

Hermione felt her heart drop as she stared at the other men. She open her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by someone else.

"I think not!"

She turned around. "Harry! What are you doing here?"

He quickly glanced at her. "Perhaps explanations are best kept for later." Harry glared at the intruders, his eyes finally resting on Malfoy.

Malfoy had an evil glint in his eye. "Harry Potter," he said coolly.

Harry looked sideways at him, and with the same tone, "Draco Malfoy." From underneath his robes, he drew out a scimitar of his own. 

The response was immediate - Malfoy and Harry began a ferocious duel, while two of the minions jumped on Hermione. Jordan retreated to the corner, clutching the chest and watching the bedlam.

She flung herself forward, parrying the blows of the two minions with her own scimitar, lunging and thrusting like an expert warrior!

"Mum! Where'd you learn to do that?" Jordan rang out.

"I haven't the faintest!" She called back, taking down the two minions.

~*~

"I'll ask you one more time," Snape said sharply. "WHERE IS THE BRACELET?"

Fred and George glanced nervously at each other. "Er. . .downstairs. . .there's a safe somewhere. . .combination's thirty-two. . .twelve. . .something!"

"Hello." At that moment, Pansy Parkinson came striding forward, carrying a wooden box. Reaching in, she pulled out a black snake. "Egyptian asps are very poisonous, you know."

"Really?" Fred asked, squirming underneath the blade at his neck. "Shame Charlie never went into that branch of -"

But he immediately stopped talking when Pansy thrust the snake forward, popping its jaws open with the squeeze of her wrist. 

"We told you! We told you!" George exclaimed.

She turned, advancing the snake on him. "What's your point?"

"So that you wouldn't kill us!" Fred jumped in.

"I don't recall making that arrangement." Pansy lowered the snake to Fred's neck.

Just then, Ron burst in. "Hey guys - !" He stopped short upon seeing the Snape, Pansy, and the mercenaries. His eyes widened. ". . .Didn't I say no wild parties while we were gone?"

"You know how it is when you're popular, old chap!" George called.

Pansy suddenly flung the snake across the room, heading straight for Ron. Barely flinching, he plucked the snake out of the air and by its neck. Regarding it for a moment, he said, "Nice asp."

Snape's face twisted. "Kill him!"

The minions drew their wands and scimitars, but before they could advance, Ron threw the snake and dove, distracting them. Fred and George managed to wriggle from their grasp and dropped to the floor, crawling out of sight. 

Ron yanked out his wand and yelled, "_Expelliarmus!_" 

Wands and scimitars flew across the room, giving Ron time to crawl into the adjoining room, and slammed the door behind himself. "Fred! George!" He yelled out.

The next moment, Ron heard various spells being yelled out, and pieces of the wall started flying away. He got to his feet. "Guys! Where are you?"

Fred and George burst from the closet. Ron stepped forward and immediately grabbed them by the shirtfronts. "What have you two gotten into now?!"

"Nothing, old chap!" George insisted. 

Suddenly there was a loud smash as another piece of wall flew away, and Fred added, "Lately!"

"Come on," Ron grumbled.

~*~

Harry blocked Malfoy's blow and shot a quick look behind him, seeing Hermione take down another minion. Jordan was in the corner, struggling as one of the warriors tried to yank the chest away.

"What's in the chest, Hermione?" Harry yelled out, blocking another of Malfoy's blows and adding one of his own. 

"The Bracelet of Arana!" She called back. 

"Let go!" Jordan shouted at the man who was yanking at the chest. But the minion won the battle, gaining the chest and sending the young boy sprawling across the floor.

"Jordan!" Hermione called out. Suddenly, another minion appeared from nowhere and scooped up the struggling Hermione and ran off with her. 

Jordan sat up, and saw his mother being carried off. "Mum!"

"Hermione!" Harry yelled out. 

Malfoy took advantage of his distraction and shoved him back against the wall, flinging his scimitar straight at him. Harry ducked out of its path, and then Malfoy threw on his cape and strode out of the house after the minion who carried Hermione.

~*~

Back upstairs, Ron motioned to Fred and George. "Let's go! We've got to jump!" 

The three of the dived out the window, shattering it, and rolled off the awning and to the ground. Ron got to his feet and saw a car speeding away from the house. And in the back window, staring out at him, was. . .

"_Ron!_" Hermione screamed. But then Malfoy shoved a handkerchief over her mouth, and she disappeared from view. 

"_Hermione_!" He yelled back, quickening his stride to chase the car, but then another one came from nowhere, cutting him off, and raced out of the court after the first one.

~*~

To Be Continued


	4. Return Of The Wizard

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Three

-dutchtulips-

Ron was still staring out at the road where the cars had been only moments before when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and Jordan flung himself into his father's arms.

"Dad!" He cried, giving Ron an impulsive hug.

"All you all right?" He immediately asked.

Jordan nodded. "I'm okay. But Mum -"

"I know, I know," Ron sighed, putting him down. 

Someone laid a hand on his shoulder. "Ron."

He looked up to see Harry, his best friend gone Auror chieftain, standing before him. He was wearing long dark robes that resembled a starry night sky, on one side of his belt a scimitar, the other, his trusty holly and phoenix wand.

"Harry? Harry, where are those bloody idiots taking 'Mione? We've got to get her back!" Ron exclaimed, beginning to get hysterical.

"Calm down, mate. Just calm down." Harry gave his friend's shoulder a gentle shake. "I am not for certain where they are going, but wherever Snape is, Hermione will surely be."

Fred jumped in. "He _was_ upstairs with us and all of those mercenaries, trying to get George and me to tell him where some bracelet was."

Ron ran a hand through his hair. "So _that's_ why those creeps were here! They're after the bracelet!"

Jordan hopped into the conversation. "Uh, Dad? Harry? I think I know where they took Mum. I remember hearing her say that the Ministry appointed Mr. Snape as curator of the History of Magic wizard museum."

"Really?" Ron inquired.

"I'm positive that's where they took her."

The party of five circled around to the back of house, where the Weasley garage was, talking all the way. "Snape is with Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson on this. I learned all about it when I found them in Necropolis. What they are doing is planning to raise Jaakko from his grave." 

"Not trying to be rude, Harry, old chap, but isn't it the Aurors who are to make sure that _doesn't _happen?" Fred put in, waving a large golden staff-like object at him.

Ron interrupted. "What's that, Fred?"

"Had it with me when Snape and the minions came in. I thought they were after it as well. It's that scepter you and Hermione dug up a few months ago at Thebes, remember?" He replied.

"Well, keep it close then," the former murmured.

Harry continued, turning to Fred. "Pansy. . .she's leading the expedition. She knows things a living witch couldn't possibly know. For instance, she knew _exactly_ where to find Jaakko's grave." He paused as they reached Ron's car. "We were hoping she would lead us to the Bracelet of Arana. Obviously she did, and now they have it."

Jordan tugged on Harry's sleeve. "No. they may have Mum, but they _don't_ have the bracelet!" He pushed up his jacket sleeve to reveal the heavy gold bracelet on his wrist.

Harry took Jordan's wrist and examined the bracelet, all while Jordan was explaining. "It just snapped shut on me - and it showed the pyramids at Giza, and then - whoa! Straight across the desert to Karnack."

Harry stared. "Cripes! Jordan, by putting this on you may bring about the next Apocalypse!"

Ron blinked. "Harry, don't. Jordan, big trouble. Fred and George, get in the car."

~*~

Moments later, they were speeding down the rainy streets of London, Ron at the wheel, Harry beside him, and Fred, George, and Jordan in the backseat.

"I did not mean to scare Jordan. But you don't understand. Now that the Bracelet of Arana is on his wrist, we only have seven days before the Dragon King awakens," Harry said to his friend.

"I take it that's not the best of all things," George said.

"Oh, he'll destroy mankind," Ron spat.

"Not that ploy again," Fred put in.

It was quiet for a moment, and then Harry spoke again. "Whoever can slay the Dragon King can take control of his army or send it back to the underworld."

"So that's why they dug up that Jaakko guy! He's the only one tough enough to knock his block off!" Ron exclaimed.

"We believe that is their plan," Harry replied.

~*~

Ron braked the car in front of the museum and shut off the engine. Turning in his seat, he said, "All right Jordan, I want you to stay here and guard the car."

"Guard the car?" The young boy repeated. "C'mon Dad, I'm not stupid!"

Ron ruffled his son's hair. "I know, I know."

"Perhaps Fred and me should, er. . .stay here with him. You know, just in case," George interjected.

"All right. You three, don't move. Harry and me'll take care of this," Ron replied, getting out of the car and opening the trunk, Harry behind him. "I keep some magic explosives in the boot. Best we load up on them, mate."

As they packed up on their weapons, Harry glanced at his friend, and noticed for the first time, the tattoo on Ron's wrist. He cleared his throat and tried for an offhanded tone, stating, "Say, Ron. . .if I were to say to you that I'm traveling across the desert from the East, searching for what has been lost. . ."

And Ron, without thinking, answered, "I would tell you that I am a traveler from the West and it is I whom you seek." Pause. Ron blinked. "Harry, how do you - ?"

He smiled enigmatically. "Then it's true." He grabbed Ron's wrist. "You bear the sacred mark."

Ron looked down at the tattoo, the same old phoenix's wings that formed the pyramid with the eye in the center, and said, "Oh, no. That's just something that the Ministry slapped on me when I was a kid. Besides, I could say the same to you."

He pushed up Harry's sleeve to reveal the tattoo of a phoenix and a falcon on Harry's upper arm, a mark Ron remembered he'd come back from Auror's training with. 

"But I knew nothing about yours. You have had it longer than I have had mine."

"Well, I didn't understand what it meant. It scared me. So I kept it covered up," he replied.

"Your mark means that you are a protector of wizardkind. A warrior for God. An Auror Knight." Harry was staring intently at him.

Ron shook his head. "Sorry. You've got the wrong guy, old mate."

~*~

Inside the museum, in the History of Magic antiquities wing, more of the same dark robed minions of Snape's were kneeling in a large circle, all murmuring incoherent words, seeming to be paying homage to a large shroud of stone in the center of the circle. 

Snape slowly approached, followed by Malfoy who had the small golden chest in tow. He sat it down and handed the large obsidian _Book of the Dead_ to Snape, and then kneeled with the rest of the minions. Snape propped the book open in his hands, waved his wand at, and it hovered in midair. Turning its pages, he began to read in ancient Egyptian.

Nearby, on her own slab of stone, lay Hermione. Not of her own free will; she was bound at the wrists and ankles, her silk dress torn here and there. She stirred, and a moment later, sat up, blinking to focus in on her surroundings. She first noticed an aging black haired man reading from a large black book.

Hermione blinked again. "Snape?" She whispered.

The next thing she knew, the shroud of stone in the center of the room was wriggling madly, and as Hermione realized what Snape was reading from, her heart dropped. "Oh, my stars," she murmured.

~*~

Meanwhile, Ron and Harry, armed with their wands, scimitars, and magic explosives, were sneaking through the museum's dark, quiet corridors, listening and watching for any signs as to where Snape and his minions might be.

Chanting echoed up the long corridor, reaching Ron and Harry's ears. "They're here," the former said tightly. "That means 'Mione is, too."

"Yes, but we must move quietly," Harry replied.

At that moment, a loud shrieking emanated up the passageway, and as Ron and Harry turned around, they saw display mummies wriggling to life. 

"Cripes!" Ron exclaimed softly, raising his wand. But they all plopped back in their coffins again. Reanimated, yes - coming after them, no. The redhead lowered his wand and he and Harry breezed down the corridor.

~*~

Hermione, who had studied many years of Ancient Runes, could fully understand ancient Egyptian, but at the moment wished she didn't, for Snape's enchantments and why he was saying them terrifying her.

"_Rise up_!" He was saying in the native tongue. "Rise up!"

Suddenly the slab burst and out stepped a horrifying figure - oozing gore, decaying muscle hanging off bones, and decomposing organs visible underneath its rotting ribcage, which shuddered as the creature breathed. Hermione knew who the mummy was.

"Jaakko," she whispered, her face contorted in fright.

"_What is the year_?" He rattled in his ancient tongue.

Snape suddenly appeared, replying in the same language, "It is the Year of the Dragon, my lord!"

"Truly?" He bellowed.

"Yes, my lord!"

With that, Jaakko threw back his decaying skull in roaring laughter, and Hermione cringed, seeing the decomposed organ throbbing with every cackle.

There was quiet again, but as Hermione turned around on her slab, she understood why. Pansy Parkinson was approaching the mummy, wearing clinging black dress robes and straight expression on her face as she stared at Jaakko. . .

. . ._and suddenly, another vision overtook Hermione and the modern woman, Pansy, striding down the corridor, abruptly morphed into an ancient Egyptian witch, wearing golden jewelry and headress of ancient wizard Egyptian time. . ._

Hermione blinked, and Pansy returned to her former state, stopping right in front of the living corpse of Jaakko, High Priest of Ibis. 

Snape suddenly jumped in, saying, "Do not be frightened, Pansy."

"I am not afraid," she replied coolly, and then in ancient Egyptian, proclaimed, "I am Cat-a-la-lina reincarnated!"

Hermione recognized the name all too well - Cat-a-la-lina had been the chosen paramour of Minister Leopold, but Jaakko's forbidden love for her - and hers for him - and caused his banishment from the kingdom and, after betraying and murdering the minister, was executed.

"Only in body," Jaakko was saying. "But soon, I shall bring you back your soul, from the depths of the underworld, and our love will once again be whole."

On the other side of the room, Malfoy had drawn his wand and snarled a curse at the golden truck, it popping open almost immediately. Snape, whom was standing next to him, said, "Lord Jaakko will be greatly pleased."

But Malfoy's smirk dropped off his face when he looked inside, finding it to be completely empty. Snape exclaimed, "WHERE IS IT?"

"I think I know. . ." Malfoy grumbled.

Back to where Jaakko was standing, Pansy leaned forward, purring, "I have acquired a gift for you, my lord." She turned towards Hermione, who was now breathing rapidly.

"_Her_!" He bellowed. 

"I knew it would please you to watch her die," She grinned malevolently. Pansy snapped her fingers, and a half dozen minions surrounded the slab and lifted it, grappling to keep Hermione still.

She struggled with her bonds, but it did no good. Looking straight ahead, she saw where she was being taken - a large stone sarcophagus filled with violent flames. "Oh, my God," Hermione said, and then with fury burst out to Jaakko, in his native tongue, "I'll put you in your grave again!"

"Not if we put you in yours first," Snape said nastily, and the minions began to tilt the slab.

Hermione felt herself slipping, but before she could scream, saw Ron jump through the flames and snatch her from the slab. A beat later, loud explosions filled the room.

~*~

"And on the very top of the pyramid there was a huge diamond," Jordan was telling his uncles, as they stood outside the car. 

"How huge?" Fred inquired.

"It was so big that would wink at travelers who were still miles away!" The young boy replied.

Suddenly, they heard hundreds of loud explosions from within the museum, and Jordan, Fred, and George dashed into the car. "Start it up, start it up!" The auburn boy yelled at George, who had the key.

"I'm trying!" He shoved it a little to forcefully into the ignition, and it broke off right in the dash.

"You broke it!" Jordan exclaimed. 

"If there's any hysterics, they'll come from me!" George cried out.

~*~ 

Ron bolted away and to safety, where he waved his wand at Hermione's bounds, and they fell away, all while hurling magic explosives at the mercenaries. While Hermione slipped out of the ropes, she glanced up to see Harry, on the catwalk above, hurling explosives and waving his wand, shouting various spells.

When she was on her feet again, Ron handed Hermione his wand to free up both hands for lobbing the magic explosives. She shouted spells at the minions as Harry was doing, all while the three of them were booking it out of the museum. 

As Ron, Hermione, and Harry were escaping from the museum, Jaakko reached down and lifted a large urn, shouting in his tongue, "Gather your limbs! Collect your bones! " Suddenly four mummified soldiers appeared at Jaakko's side, and he yelled, pointing at the trio. 

"Oh, no, not this again!" Ron shouted, and they bolted from the room.

Bursting out to the street, Ron, Hermione, and Harry quickly spotted the car and bolted for it, only to realize Fred, George, and Jordan were not inside, nor anywhere in sight. 


	5. Hell On Wheels

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Four

-dutchtulips-

At that moment, a large bus came careening up the street and braked mere feet in front of Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Fred was at the wheel, George next to him, and Jordan was hanging near the front. "Mum!" He cried out happily, upon seeing her.

Without thinking, Hermione jumped onboard and hugged Jordan tightly. Harry hopped on the back while Ron was still standing at the entryway to the bus, arguing with Fred and George.

"What's wrong with my car?" He exclaimed.

"Well, er. . .we were forced to find another means of transportation," George said quickly.

"On the Knight Bus?" He yelled back.

"It was Fred's idea!"

"Was not!" Fred replied.

"Yes it was, old boy," George shot back.

Ron didn't waste any more time. While his twin brothers exchanged _was toos _and _was nots_, he followed Harry, jumping on the back of the bus. 

Harry was pulling a dozen or so magic explosives out of his robes, along with his wand to light them. "Ready for this?" He called.

"Whether or not, here they come!" Ron said back, jumping to the second level of the vacant bus. From the back window on the second tier, he could see the four mummy soldiers galloping towards the bus, scrambling along building walls, violently knocking over things in the street, and bounding impossible leaps.

"Oh, I hate mummies. . ." Ron grumbled. No sooner had he said that when two of them - flew? towards the second tier and with a resounding _wham_, hit the roof, thrashing inside.

Meanwhile, the second two had stayed around to attack Harry on the lower tier. One smashed through the back entryway, only to be blown into oblivion a minute later by a spell from Harry's wand. He was not as lucky with the second one; it pounced on him at once, trying to beat him senseless.

Back on the second tier, one mummy soldier had crashed a hole in the ceiling, and jumping through it, gave Ron a powerful punch, knocking him down to the floor. He got up as quickly as he could, lighting an explosive while doing so. He speedily crammed it down the mummy's throat, and then smirked slightly when it exploded into fragments.

Harry heard the loud blast, and felt renewed determination. He managed to beat back the mummy soldier that was atop him, and jumped for him, ready to slash it to pieces with his scimitar. But before he could, the thing knocked him backwards again, hitting the far wall.

Hermione turned around and screamed at Fred, "Turn, Fred, turn!"

The large Knight Bus careened to the left, going so fast it nearly tipped on its side. Inside the bus, the turn had knocked the mummy soldier off his feet as well, and Harry accelerated for it, repeating Ron's tactic of shoving a magic explosive down the throat of it and watching it explode.

Ron was grappling with the last mummy soldier as it threw punches at him. He lifted his foot and pried the thing away from him, and then waved his wand at it. The mummy was abruptly covered in flames, and with a bone-chilling shriek, tumbled out of a window and dropped into the Thames as the bus roared by it.

Ron let out a relieving sigh, and then, catching his breath, headed down for the first tier. He found Harry slumped over in a seat, doing the same. "You all right?"

The Auror chieftain looked up at his best friend, and with a small smile, said, "Well, this was very different than my last ride on the Knight Bus."

Moments later, the bus came to a grunting stop. George called out to them. "I think this old darling is on its last legs, people." As if in response, the engine stopped completely.

Hermione looked at Ron, and beckoned him over with a single finger, not bothering to say a word. He grinned his lopsided grin, and came hither, taking her in his tired arms, and they started to kiss.

Jordan, who was standing nearby, rolled his eyes and groaned. "Please. . ." He walked away from the scene and towards the back of the bus, looking around. 

As if from nowhere, an arm shot and grabbed Jordan from the bus. "Help!" He managed to shout before a hand was clamped over his mouth. Ron and Hermione broke out of their embrace and raced for the back of the bus.

"Jordan!" She screamed as he was shoved into a car.

Ron hopped from the bus and chased after the speeding car that was carrying his son. "Jordan!" He yelled. _Only a little further. . ._

But there was a loud noise, and Ron saw that the Tower drawbridge was beginning to rise, slowly cutting off his view of the car, and until it had raised completely and his view was gone. 

Ron launched himself on the top of the raised bridge, looking out over it and seeing the car carrying his son speeding away down the street. "Jordan. . ." He whispered.

~*~

At the uppermost part of the History of Magic museum, Pansy stood out on the balcony, looking over on the city, her black dress robes being whipped gently by the wind.

Jaakko came up behind her, saying in his ancient tongue, "I shall now go to Yané Seek and slay the Dragon King."

"And with his army," she replied, a glint in her eye, "We shall rule the world together."

"My lord."

Jaakko turned around and saw Snape standing there, a troubled look in his face. He had been the one who had spoken. "My lord, there is something you should know. Tonight when I went to retrieve the bracelet, I saw Weasley's brothers with the Scepter of Ibis."

Fury contorted the mummy's face for a moment, but then it disappeared. "By the time we reach Yané Seek, my powers will be fully regenerated, and I will have no need for the scepter."

Jaakko turned back to Pansy and leaned in to kiss her. She reared back for a moment, but only a moment, because then something incredible happened. . .

. . ._they were both face-to-face at the minister's palace, out on the balcony, Leopold's chosen olive-skinned beauty and the handsome High Wizard and Grand Priest of Ibis, about to seal their forbidden love with a kiss. Cat-a-la-lina, whom Pansy was in the vision, found her hesiation dropping away as she leaned in to kiss Jaakko, closing her eyes and offering her lips. . ._

And it was fortunate for Pansy that her eyes were closed and that she was lost in the vision, otherwise she would see her lord's fetid lips pressed against her red mouth. 

~*~

Ron was gently holding Hermione, who was near tears, and rocking her slowly. All they could think about was Jordan, hoping that he was alive. "It's gonna be okay, 'Mione. We'll get him back. . ." Ron whispered to her.

Harry stepped forward. "Do not fear for Jordan," he said to them. "They cannot hurt him because he is wearing the Bracelet of Arana."

Hermione sniffled and looked up at Ron. "He's wearing the bracelet?" She questioned, bewildered.

He nodded slowly. "When he put it on he said he saw the Giza pyramids, and the temple at Karnack. . ."

"Yes," Harry cut in. "And when they reach Karnack, the bracelet will show Jordan the next step of the journey."

"If we don't get to Karnack before them we won't know where to go next!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron seemed lost in thought. "You know what? I think we need a Fizzing Whizbee."

Fred who was standing nearby, said, "I don't think now's the time for candy, old chap. Although, if we could get our Exploding Gum elixir from the manor. . ."

Ron hastily waved his hand, cutting him off. "No, no. Another kind of Fizzing Whizbee. You'll find out."

~*~

Cairo, Egypt. By the bank of the Nile, large boats waited to be loaded and unloaded, and a small train station nearby had its freight and passenger cars open, doing the same. An exception was one lengthy train that was now pulling out of the station, whom sitting atop it were a dozen or so familiar dark robed minions, acting as lookouts.

Inside the train, in the parlor car, sat Snape, looking out of a window for a moment as the train began gaining speed on the tracks. He turned around to face Pansy, who was sitting in front of him, and spoke. 

"When Lord Jaakko was executed, his immortal soul was condemned to the underworld. Because of this, he will be vulnerable, even with his fully regenerated powers. Only when he stands at the head of the Army of Arana, will he again be impermeable."

Snape suddenly withdrew a large obsidian book, and extended it to Pansy. He waved his wand over it and whispered a spell, and then said to her, as she took it, "Keep this with you at all times."

Suddenly Malfoy burst in, carrying a squirming Jordan. He hastily deposited the auburn boy on the floor as Jordan exclaimed, "Hey, it's _The Book of the Dead_!"

Pansy looked at him. "What a bright little child." She kneeled down in front of him and said softly, "Your mother must be missing you terribly right now. If you wish to her again, you'd better behave."

"Lady," Jordan began, impertinently, "I don't behave for my parents. What makes you think I'll do it for you?"

Pansy smirked. "Because your parents would not slip poisonous snakes into your bed while you are sleeping."

His eyes widened. 

Snape suddenly cut in, saying to Malfoy, "Lord Jaakko wishes to meet the boy."

Malfoy nodded and shoved Jordan into the next car. "Hey, watch it!" He shouted.

"Move it!" He yelled at the young boy.

Jordan stepped into the adjoining room, which had been fashioned to look like an ancient Egyptian temple. Torches were lit and hanging against the walls, and air was heavy with the smell of burning incense. Presiding over it all was a tall, eerie figure in a hooded black robe. 

Malfoy kneeled down as the figure turned around to look at Jordan. The young boy noticed that he was wearing a mask. Jordan was the son of Ron Weasley and had inherited his father's prowess; he was the son of Hermione Granger Weasley, whose intellect he had also gained, but he was only eight years old, and now, he was scared.

Jaakko began to speak. At first Jordan couldn't understand the words, as they were in ancient Egyptian, but then, suddenly, mysteriously, it turned into English. "It is you, young Weasley. You are the one to take me to Yané Seek."

"What if I don't?" Jordan replied, unaware that he was now speaking the ancient tongue. "What if I happen to get, sort of. . .lost?"

The mummy laughed, and kneeled down to be at the young boy's level. He reached out a gloved hand and lifted Jordan's wrist, the one bearing the heavy Bracelet of Arana. "This bracelet is both a blessing and a curse. The sands of time have already began to pour out against you."

Jordan steeled himself, hastily saying, "Yeah, yeah. I already heard this part. I put the bracelet on, and seven days later the Dragon King wakes up."

"Did you also hear that if you do not enter the golden pyramid of Yané Seek before its apex is touched by the sun - on that last morning, that the bracelet will suck the very life from you?" Jaakko replied.

Jordan's heart dropped to his feet. Eyes widened, he said, "That part I missed." Pause. "Hey, I only have five days left!"

"Perhaps then, I think it best if you do not 'get lost.' "

Jordan gritted his teeth and said fearlessly to the mummy's face, "My dad is going kick your ass."

Jaakko reached up and pulled his mask away, revealing his fetid, maggot-infested face. Skull grinning, he said, "I do not think so."

The auburn boy jumped back, terror-stricken upon seeing this sight, and then suddenly, Malfoy grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the car.

~*~

Back in the parlor car, three men stepped inside - Macnair, the leader, followed by Pettigrew and Karkaroff, who were lugging a heavy object, covered in a blanket, between them. Snape, upon seeing them, stepped forward. "Did you acquire it?"

"Oh, we 'acquired' it all right. We had to knock off a couple guards back at the museum to 'acquire' it," Macnair said.

Karkaroff jerked the blanket off the object, which turned out to be a ornate, wooden chest. He glided his fingers over the hieroglyphics. "It says that there is one, the undead, who will kill all those who open this."

"Yes, yes, suck them dry so that he shall become whole again," Snape waved his hand carelessly. "Load of rubbish."

"Yes, but we heard the original people who found it died horrible deaths. So it appears -" 

"We want ten thousand!" Pettigrew exclaimed.

Snape gritted his teeth. "The agreement was for five."

"Yes, but we want ten. Or we'll take it somewhere else," Macnair spat.

Pansy laid a hand on Snape's shoulder to get his attention. "Ten will be just fine. Follow me, gentlemen. And please, bring the chest."

Pettigrew and Karkaroff lugged it along as they followed Macnair, who followed Pansy into the next car, the room in which Jordan Weasley and Lord Jaakko had exchanged words in only moments before. "In here you will receive your just rewards."

Macnair entered, looking around. "No tricks now, woman. We're not giving up the chest 'til we're satisfied."

Pansy smirked at them. "Oh, there is much satisfaction to be had." With that, she slammed the door behind them, locking them in.

Macnair turned around. "What the hell?"

"This place is cursed," Karkaroff said.

Suddenly Jaakko swooped down in front of them, bellowing. The three mercenaries screamed upon seeing the decaying, rotten, and fetid figure and drew their wands, shouting spells. . .but it did no good, as the mummy was impervious to them. 

Pettigrew banged on the door, praying for answer, for someone to hear and let them out of this place, and he got one.

Pansy slid open a metal plate in the door and exclaimed, "Open the chest! He wants you to open the chest!" And then she disappeared.

Without thinking, Pettigrew bounded forward and jerked the lid of the chest, and it emanated a large cloud of white vapor, which filled the room, blocking their view of the creature. Finally it cleared, but the mummy was nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd it go?" Macnair mumbled.

He got his answer. He jumped off the ceiling and latched onto the nearest man - Pettigrew, and stretched his jaw incredibly wide, sucking the soul, the life, from him. . .

Soon, the creature was stepping around the corpses of the three men, a mummy no longer, but a muscular, handsome, and copper-skinned man, as he had been in 1280 B.C.

Lord Jaakko was as alive as the mercenaries were dead.

~*~

To Be Continued


	6. Pooled Visions

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Five

-dutchtulips-

On the outskirts of Cairo lay a small airport hangar, a rickety sign nailed outside of it in the sands, reading _Fizzing Whizbee Airways_. George Weasley expertly swung his Dusenberg up next to the sign, and he, Fred, Ron, and Hermione all got out. 

Hermione took one look at the sign and said, "_This_ is the Fizzing Whizbee you were talking about?"

"Don't worry, Our old friend Seamus is a professional. It'll be fine," Ron replied. Turning to Fred he said, "Unload our bags from the car, will you?"

"Sure, old boy, but my hands are a little full right now." He was lobbing the Scepter of Ibis between his hands. 

Ron snatched it from the air. "Go."

"All right then."

Hermione strode up next to her husband. "I didn't know Seamus went into piloting. How did you know?"

"Well, er, before you and me got married I, uh, traveled. . . a couple of places with him," Ron replied awkwardly. "Come on."

At that moment, the door opened and out stepped Seamus, wearing greasy coveralls and his wand holstered in his pocket. He looked up just as Ron called out, "How goes it there, Seam?"

"Weasley!" He rushed back into the hangar and slammed the door. 

Hermione glanced at Ron. "He seemed to have a great time, huh?"

Not responding, Ron whisked out his wand and shouted the unlocking spell, _alohamora_, and the lock shot off. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Dear, you're not a subtle man."

Ron shrugged, kicking the doors open. "We don't have time for subtle." 

Spotting Seamus he called, "Seam, c'mere."

"No way!" He shouted back, rushing around the hangar, collecting scrolls. "Every time I hook up with you, Ron, I practically get myself killed! Last time I almost got my leg blow off! Remember that time in Bristol you had half the Ministry on your tail?"

"Oh really?" Hermione raised her eyebrows again. 

Ron looked sheepishly at her. "It's not how it sounds. My intentions _were_ noble, you know. . .and besides, it was just the Disposal of Magical Creatures department!"

Seamus slammed the scrolls down on a counter. "It's exactly how it sounds!" He shot back, and then turned to Hermione. "I'm flying high, the Redhead Boy here flags me down for the OK. So I fly in nice and low for the pickup. Next thing I know I'm laying in the road with my guts hanging out and he's waltzing off with some dancing witch girl!"

"Dancing witch girl? Seamus, I think you and I should talk," Hermione replied, glancing at Ron.

"Talk I'm for so long as I don't get meself hexed."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Look Seam, I'm paying you this time." He tossed his friend a small bag filled with gold galleons. 

Seamus caught it. "Ron old boy, I'm stationed here in the desert, huh? What the heck am I going to spend this on?" But he pocketed the money anyways.

"Seam, let me cut to the chase. My son Jordan's out there," he swept his hand out towards the desert, "He's been kidnapped. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get him back."

Ron noticed Seamus's eyes was glued intently to the Scepter of Ibis in his hand. He moved his hand, and the pilot's eyes moved with it. "Ron, if you give me that golden staff thing, you can put the _Imperius _curse on me and make me tap dance on a unicorn in the nuddy-pants."

Ron tossed it to him. "Didn't we do that in Liverpool, New Years?"

As the Weasley party followed Seamus outside, he said to Hermione, rather sheepishly, "You're not really catching me at my best here, Herm."

"Oh, I'm sure I am," she smiled. "It's good to see you again, Seamus."

He beamed and started to hurry around to the back of the hangar, but stopped short as he saw at least a dozen Auror chiefs on hippogriffs. "I knew it. I'm going to get meself killed!"

Harry, who was in front, slid off his hippogriff and came towards the Weasleys. "These are the commanders of the twelve Auror sects." Pause. "Hedwig!" He called out.

The beautiful snowy owl flew down to Harry's outstretched arm, nipping his finger affectionately. "Hedwig will let the commanders know of our progress, so that they may follow at a distance."

"Oi, everyone!" A voice, Seamus's, called, who was waving the Weasleys back to the hangar. Ron led the way, but stopped short as he got a look at Seamus's 'plane.'

"Bloody hell, Seam," he grumbled.

"Isn't she a beaut'?" Seamus exclaimed. 

The 'beaut' was a blue-hued dirigible, lofting, and held down by mooring lines. Its underbelly was an old battered fishing trawler - an airplane propeller extended itself from the end. 

Ron dropped his hands. "It's a balloon!"

"It's a dirigible!" Seamus said.

"What happened to your plane?"

"Oi, airplanes are a thing of the past!" He said good-naturedly.

Ron shook his head, fighting off despair. "Seam, you were right."

"I was?"

"Yeah. You're going to get hexed!" Ron yanked out his wand.

Seamus held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ron! Hold on there! She's faster than she looks! Quiet, perfect for sneaking up on people."

Considering that, Ron pocketed his wand. 

"Plus, it's better than barging in with weapons blazing, hexing people!" Seamus put in. 

Ron shrugged and sighed. "All right, then. Might as well get going."

"Everyone onboard!" The pilot called, waving Ron, Hermione, Fred and George, and Harry all onto the trawler. He cut the mooring lines, and they were off.

~*~

It was sometime later and the Weasley party was now overlooking a deep purpling sky, the dirigible lofting steadily along with the nighttime breeze. Fred and George were sitting near the captain's cabin, passing a scroll between them, while Harry sat next to them, talking.

"Ron is reluctant to admit it, but he flies like Hedwig towards his destiny," he was saying.

"Yes, yes. . so tell us more about this golden pyramid," George said, laying the scroll aside. 

"Ditto," Fred replied.

Harry scratched his head, thinking. "Well. . .in Auror's training we've read that no one since the time of the Dragon King has seen the pyramid and returned to tell the tale." As he talked, Fred was rummaging his arm around in the porthole in the captain's cabin. 

"Where is all this stuff written?" George inquired.

But before Harry could answer, Fred suddenly rang out with, "Got it!" He waved the Scepter of Ibis in the air. 

"I'd keep that close if I were you," Harry said. "Snape and his minions must not get it."

"The Gods could get this from me, old chap!" Fred exclaimed, but no sooner had he said that when Seamus appeared out of nowhere and snatched the scepter from Fred's grasp.

"This one's mine. Keep your hands off it."

As Seamus sauntered away, Harry just looked on and smirked, stroking Hedwig.

Out at the bow, Hermione was staring out at the now sapphire-hued sky, from time to time glancing down at the sand dunes below. She seemed to be fighting off the urge to cry.

Ron, who had been watching nearby, finally decided to approached her. Slipping an arm around her waist, he said tenderly, "Hey there."

Hermione let herself fall against him, and clutched her husband's hand. "I want him back, Ron. I want to hug him and hold him again."

"I know," he whispered. "We've taught him well. He's braver than me. He's smarter than you."

Hermione sniffled. "I just love him so much, I can't -"

"We both do," Ron replied. "And Jordan knows we do." He paused, his voice dropping even lower. "I'll get him back. I promise, 'Mione."

~*~

Across the Sahara, the train carrying Jordan Weasley still continued chugging along the tracks, speeding alongside the desert's magnificent sand dunes, and underneath the ever blazing Sahara sun. 

Within a tight passenger car on the train, a certain dark robed wizard was playing nursemaid to a certain eight-year-old boy, and was not amused.

Jordan, seated across from Malfoy, drummed his fingers on the small table separating them, and stared at him, asking over and over again, "Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

This went on for several more moments, until, midway through, "Are we there yet?" Malfoy yanked out his scimitar and slammed it into the wood of the table, right in between Jordan's index and middle finger.

"Wow! That was amazing! Perfect aim!" The young boy exclaimed. 

"What are you talking about?" Malfoy said nastily. "I missed."

Jordan's eyes widened for a moment, and then, casually, started drumming his fingers on the tabletop again. He looked down and noticed Malfoy was doing the same, and smirked. Malfoy drummed his fingers once, Jordan following suit, and then again.

He drummed them twice, having the feeling the boy was mocking him, and when Jordan drummed his twice as well, Malfoy practically pounced on him, completely annoyed.

"I have to go to the bathroom," the eight-year-old quickly said.

Malfoy grabbed Jordan's arm and pushed him into the next room, the toilet, which turned out to be one of the most foulest rooms Jordan had ever stepped into. "Hurry up!" 

"I can't go when someone's watching!" 

Malfoy said nothing but slammed the door behind him, leaving Jordan alone. Looking around at the repulsive surroundings, the young boy took note of the most revolting toilet he'd ever seen. Hastily he flipped up the lid, and a look washed over his face.

"God!" He exclaimed, indeed repulsed. "Doesn't anyone know how to flush a bloody toilet?" Jordan yanked the chain and watched the fecal matter empty itself from the latrine, and right out on the passing train tracks. 

Suddenly struck with an idea, he nimbly took hold of the rusty toilet and ripped it off its slot. Staring down at the hole in the floor, Jordan yanked the emergency brake and dropped through the hole.

Running straight ahead, he spotted the Temple of Karnack, and dove in between the ruins as he dodged magic explosives that were being hurled at him from the train. He didn't bother to look back, although if he had, would have seen a boxcar open, Jaakko in the door way, accompanied by dark haired Pansy.

Jordan scrambled into the limestone temple, looking for a place to hide, when suddenly the gold Bracelet of Arana on his wrist sparked yet another vision. . .

. . ._the chamber around him was surrounded by delicately carved relief of the triumphs of Minister Leopold. Then Jordan's vision raced, speeding across the desert, landing on another temple, the Temple Island of Philae, when suddenly a man in deep robes came striding forward into the vision. . . ._

The vision disappeared and Jordan found himself staring straight at Jaakko, was raising his hand slowly, causing the young boy to rise in the air as well. Jaakko merely waggled his finger at Jordan, saying, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

~*~

It was fully dark over the desert now, as the blue dirigible floated over the landscape. Inside the trawler, near the cabin, sat Ron. He was checking over his magic explosives as Harry sat across from him, talking to him.

"If a man does not embrace his past, he is unprepared for the future," the Auror chieftain was saying.

Ron sighed. "Even _if_ I'm some sacred Auror Knight, what good does it do me now?"

"It is the missing piece of your heart," Harry answered. "If you accept it, you can do anything."

The redhead did not reply. Rubbing his brow tiredly, he asked, "So what can we expect from ol' Jaakko?"

Harry's eyes grew solemn. "His powers are restoring quickly. By the time he reaches Yané Seek even the Dragon King won't be able to defeat him."

"Hmm. . ." Ron said.

Meanwhile at the bow of the trawler, Hermione stood once more, overlooking the landscape, and fog drifted around the lip. A sudden feeling washed over her as she heard a faint whisper in anicent Egyptian, saying, "It is time to remember who you were. . .and are."

At that very moment, in the Temple of Karnack, Jaakko was kneeling in front of the water, Pansy next to him. He was speaking to her in his ancient tongue. "It's time for you to remember who we were together." 

Waving a hand over the water, the fog dissipated to reveal a fantastic vision, one in which both Pansy and Hermione were both seeing. 

__

In the high-ceilinged, pillared royal chamber of the palace, Minister Leopold sat upon his throne with his high priest Jaakko standing beside him. A pair of apparent princesses in golden regalia, clinging robes, and faces concealed by ornate gold masks were standing, facing each other. 

With a clap of Leopold's hands, the women sprung into action, beginning a ferocious duel. Trading blows from their tridents, punching, kicking, and expertly diving, they were clearly skilled in battle further beyond any male warrior. 

One of the lovely combatants was hurled to the floor with her opponent pointing a trident down at her. The woman on the floor, breathing hard, slowly lifted her golden mask, revealing the her lovely face. . .

. . .a face identical to Hermione's.

__

The comely brutal foe who had thrown the princess to the floor pulled up her mask as well. "Put your mask on! We wouldn't want to scare our pretty face!"

But the princess, with Hermione's face, suddenly jumped back to her feet and lunged at her opponent, tridents driving forward. The combat broke out yet again, with more vicious parrying, blocking, and striking. The first princess lost her weapons, and was flipped onto her back by her foe, trident dimpling her throat. 

Applause rang out, the duel finished. "You have improved greatly," the victorous woman said, and then with a smirk, "I'll have to watch my back."

The princess on the floor, with Hermione's face, did not appreciate the sarcasm. Her eyes filled with fury, she replied sharply, "Yes. . .and I'll watch mine."

The two women rose from the floor moments later, Minister Leopold stepping forward. "Bravo, bravo!" He exclaimed, and then said, "Who better than to guard the Bracelet of Arana than my lovely daughter, Maricarmen." He put an arm around the princess resembling Hermione. "And who better than to protect me than my future wife, Cat-a-la-lina."

Embracing her father, Maricarmen glanced over his shoulder, seeing the high priest Jaakko walk by, glancing at Cat-a-la-lina, who returned it, following him with her eyes, as if a private secret existed between them. . .

The vision shared by Hermione and Pansy seemed to shimmer into the darkness, and suddenly. . .

. . ._It was night, the sky a curtain of sapphire with a handful of diamonds. Princess Maricarmen stepped out on her balcony, savoring the sweet Nile breeze, her dreamy gaze drifting across the courtyard at Cat-a-la-lina's quarters. She glimpsed the lithe, petite form of the paramour slipping through a wall of silk drapes and out on her balcony, where she met another familiar figure, Maricarmen's father's high priest Jaakko. He and Cat-a-la-lina embraced, and then kissed!_

The princess could not believe was she was seeing. Reeling in fury, she forced herself look back again after hearing a loud noise, and saw the two breaking apart in panic. "The minister!" Jaakko exclaimed.

Maricarmen saw the figure of her father in the drapes, and then glimpsed Jaakko coming forward with a scimitar, Cat-a-la-lina also had one raised, and they sunk them deep into Minister Leopol'd body, his shrieks of pain echoing through the palace.

"Nooooo!" The princess shrieked, eyes brimming with tears, weaving in shock. . .

. . .and Hermione, who was at the bow of the trawler, experiencing the same sensations, bobbed against the railing, and started to fall over the side.

" 'Mione!" Ron yelled out, diving over and grabbing her before she plunged to her death, and clutched a fistful of fishing net that was strung over the side of the trawler, keeping them from falling off.

~*~

But Pansy's vision had not ended the same time Hermione's had. Her trance continued on, witnessing some else, something more. . .

. . ._"You must go, my love," Cat-a-la-lina told Jaakko. "Go, and save yourself!"_

But the minister's guards were coming upon them fast, grabbing Jaakko, pulling him away as he yelled out, "I won't leave you!" But nevertheless, he was dragged away, and Cat-a-la-lina was left alone, until a troop of Auror Knights had approached her from behind, and she swung around.

"My body is no longer his temple!" She yelled, and then plunged her scimitar into her heart. 

Pansy's eyes snapped open, blank and glassy as obsidian. Jaakko was still kneeling nearby, _The Book of the Dead_ propped open in his hands as he read from its pages.

A black fog floated from the surface of the small shimmering pool, sinking into Pansy, enveloping her. A long moment of silence passed, and then she blinked her eyes. She looked to the side of her and exclaimed, "Jaakko!"

He returned her glance. "Cat-a-la-lina."

~*~

Back on Seamus's trawler, they were all sitting around together, listening to Hermione as she explained what she'd seen and experienced. Finishing her story, she said, "Honestly, I'm not loosing my mind it all makes perfect sense. These visions, they're memories of my previous life."

Harry nodded, not a tinge of doubt in his mind. Turning to Ron he said, "Now do you believe it, mate? Clearly you were destined to protect this woman."

"Sure," Ron replied sardonically, sarcastically. "She's a reincarnated princess and I'm an Auror Knight."

"And Jordan leads the way to Yané Seek! Three sides of the pyramid. This was all preordained a very long time ago," Harry replied.

"So how does the story end?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Only the journey is written, not the destination," the Auror chieftain answered.

"Convient," Ron put in.

"How else do you explain Hermione's visions?" Harry pointed out. "How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence, mate."

Harry shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Ron, there is a fine line between coincidence - and fate."

~*~ 


	7. The Oasis of Yané Seek

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Six

-dutchtulips-

The dark robed minions led their camels into the encampment at Karnack, flickering fires the only source of illumination. Alone within the temple, an eight-year-old prisoner sulked, pacing around a tall post in which his leg was chained to. Jordan kicked at the sand, trying to think of a way to escape.

Footsteps and the swish of robes alerted him that someone was approaching. Jordan glanced up to see Malfoy looming towards him, holding a tin cup filled with water. 

"Easy there, partner," he said, holding up his wrist bearing the Bracelet of Arana. 

Malfoy stopped short. "When the time comes, I shall truly enjoy killing you," he said menacingly. "You may have inherited Ron Weasley's sharp tongue, but you have also inherited his foolishness."

Jordan chose to ignore the last comment. "But until that time, Killjoy, you'd better be a _little_ nice to me. Now where's my water?"

Malfoy shoved the tin cup in the boy's hands and, grumbling, sauntered off.

The eight-year-old waited until he was gone, and then Jordan tipped the cup over the sand. Diligently, he began to sculpt the wet sand, fashioning a castle. But this was no ordinary sand castle. . .

~*~

Ron and Harry - wands scimitars, and magic explosives at the ready - raced across the hot Sahara sand along the Temple of Karnack towards the train beyond, stopped on the tracks. Ron reached it first, hurling himself onto the train, holding all his weapons in front of him -

"They've gone!" Harry called from the front of the train. 

Ron felt his heart drop, sighed, and lowered his arsenal. Meeting Harry, he said, "Now what do we do? We've got no idea where to go now."

As if in reply, Hermione's voice echoed across the ruins. "_Ron_!"

He dashed across the sand, Harry close behind them, bolting for Hermione. Following her voice inside the temple, they found her crouching over the sand. She waved them over, "Look what Jordan left for us." She was smiling happily.

Ron looked down at the small, sandy structure Hermione was staring at. Hope leaped into his chest.

"It's the Temple Island of Philae. They've gone to Philae," she told them. 

"Attaboy, Jordan. Let's go!" Ron exclaimed, and they dashed for the dirigible. 

Once there, Harry scrawled something on a piece of papyrus and tied to Hedwig's leg. She took off, and the party was free to depart.

~*~

The next stop - the Island of Philae - on the following day proved as deserted as the temple ruins of Karnack. Normally, it would not have made much difference, but there was one particular item of interest - a young boy's khakis jacket, left "carelessly" behind.

Hermione yanked it away revealing beneath it, another sand sculpture, which she identified as the Great Temple of Abu Simbel. Harry sent another note with Hedwig, and they were gone again like the ones before them.

~*~

The blimp and its fishing trawler was now floating through deep canyons, following the Nile's twisting path. "That's the Blue Nile down there," Ron noted sometime later, as the blimp floated over the long river. "We must be out of Egypt by now."

"In ancient times, this still all belonged to the Upper Kingdom," Hermione replied. "The Oasis of Yané Seek must be around here somewhere."

"Don't worry, 'Mione. He's a smart kid. He'll leave us a sign," Ron said.

~*~

Within a few miles of the blimp, Jordan was sitting at the edge of Blue Nile, playing in the damp sand. He was making a large design with his fingertips, doing it casually as if he were just having fun. But unknowingly to him, a dark robes man was coming from behind him, waiting for the right moment to strike. . .

And suddenly a boot stomped down on the design Jordan was making, crushing the sand. Malfoy lifted the lithe boy off the ground and yelled, "Leaving breadcrumbs, are you?" He was about to strike Jordan when a voice called out in ancient Egyptian.

"Malfoy! Put him down," Jaakko said. Jordan looked up and saw the regenerated mummy standing in the Nile, water up to his waist. The mummy continued to speak. "I hope your parents have enjoyed their journey."

With some inhuman power, Jaakko raised his arms and lifted a massive wall of water out of the river. It hung there, a shimming blue curtain, waiting to do the mummy's bidding.

~*~

Ron, Hermione, and Harry stood at the stern of the trawler, looking down for any signs that Jordan might have left. Suddenly a rumbling noise rolled into their ears, and Ron turned around, curious.

A towering wall of water was onrushing the blimp, bearing the single, watery face of Jaakko. 

Ron yelled out to Seamus, "Seam, starboard! Go starboard!"

He yanked a lever and shouted to everyone, "Hold on!" Flames shot out of the boosters on the sides of the trawler, and with a _whoosh_, the blimp shot out through the canyons like a rocket. 

Seamus managed a sharp turn through the next canyon, but the face of Jaakko was not as lucky. It crashed into the rock and disappeared. Silence.

Fred, clutching the golden Scepter of Ibis, turned around at the stern. "Er. . .people." He waved the others to come closer. They turned as Fred had to look into the ravine where Seamus and flown them into. It was an immense bowl shaped canyon which had a floor of rich foliage, so thick it could only be. . .

Ron dug out his telescope and peered through it, catching the sparkling tip of a golden pyramid. "This is the oasis, all right."

Before any more words could be exchanged, the rumbling started again. Seamus turned around, yelling, "He's back!"

And indeed the watery face of Jaakko had returned, lunging on the small blimp. Seamus kicked the throttle and the balloon shot out again, but stopped short, hovering in midair for a moment.

"Uh oh," the pilot said.

With the face's mouth opened, it crashed the blimp and took it spinning down, sending it sailing down into the jungle.

~*~

Jaakko climbed out of the water and, stepping on the shore, his apparent task done.

"Mum?" Jordan whispered tearfully. "Dad?"

The mummy merely patted the boy's head as he passed, but Jordan reached up and push Jaakko's arm away.

~*~

Deep in Yané Seek's jungle lay the deflated blimp, limping over the jungle foliage like a sickly animal. The trawler was battered even more than before, leaning up against an immense baobab tree. Among the twining emerald vines, the Weasley party and Seamus had managed to wedge from the deflated blimp. 

As the Weasleys quickly recovered their rucksacks and supplies, Seamus was complaining loudly. "You know it'll take me _ages_ to fix this! This thing runs on gas! Where'm I going to get gas? Mangos? Bananas?"

"Convert the blimp to hot air," Ron said simply, picking up his wand and holstering it. 

"I s'pose I could, but do you know how many cubic meters I'd need. . ." Seamus continued on with his tirade.

Ron turned to the pilot. "If anyone can fill this thing up with hot air, it's you."

Seamus glowered but said nothing.

Meanwhile, George, who had been packing up his rucksack, suddenly looked down and saw the Scepter of Ibis poking out of Seamus's bag. He reached down and plucked from the pack. "Come to Daddy," he mumbled, stuffing it inside his robes.

Harry, who had just sent Hedwig off with another note, began trekking with the Weasleys up through the jungle, Fred saying, "So where're we off to, Ron old boy?"

"Let's find some higher ground first."

They had barely gotten far into the jungle before a shriek startled them all, but it was not a human's scream. It was the cry of a bird.

Harry snapped around, shouting, "Hedwig!" The word was strained; pleading, but the snowy white owl did not come back.

Harry could not have known it, but Malfoy, who had spotted Hedwig days earlier was just waiting for the bird's return, and had brought the winged messenger down from sky.

"I must go," he said. "I must let the commanders know where we are. If the Army of Arana arises -"

"Please," Ron pleaded, stopping in front of his old friend. "I can't do this without you. I need you to help me get Jordan back."

Harry was quiet for a moment, and then swallowed and nodded. "First then I will. But then I must return to the Aurors."

"Sure," the redhead replied. "Let's go."

And Harry took the lead.

~*~

Moonlight and torches held by the dark robed minions lighted the way of Jaakko's caravan as they trooped through the jungle of Yané Seek, the copper skinned regenerated mummy leading the way, at his side striding the dark haired woman who had been Pansy, but now was Cat-a-la-lina. 

Near the back was Jordan, who was being prodded along by Malfoy. Although the eight-year-old had inherited his father's prowess, he was indeed scared. As he stared around at the vast jungle around him, Jordan had the distinct feeling that his time was running out.

The procession paused as Jaakko slowed his pace, observing the sights the caravan had fallen upon. Nets were strung across the trees, displaying their grotesque contents - armor clad skeletons, still rotting at the sight.

"Romanian legionnaires," Snape noted as they passed by. "Over there, French troops."

And then, abruptly, Jaakko stopped, glancing around the jungle. Cat-a-la-lina at his side, asked, "What is it?"

The shimmering tip of the golden pyramid was twinkling in the distance. Jordan looked up and mumbled to himself, "Cripes, I'm in trouble now."

~*~

At another small clearing some distance away, Ron and Harry were loading up on their weapons. The latter had his wand and scimitar at his belt at always, the former the same and cramming his rucksack with more magic explosives. 

Ron looked up, shrugging a lock of his red hair out of his face. "You hear that?" He said to Harry.

"What?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Meanwhile, Fred and George were tinkering with their explosive launchers, as was Hermione nearby, trying to familiarize herself with it. Harry approached the twins a few moments later, saying, "I trust you two are good with those."

"Of course, old boy, of course!" Fred replied brightly. 

"Three times Fox and Hound grand champions," George put in. Glancing at Harry's scimitar, he said, "Pretty good with that, old mate?"

"I suppose we will see," Harry answered, smirking. Smoothly he drew the weapons from his belt, and holding a mere inch from George's neck said, "You see, the only way to kill an Arana warrior is to take off its head."

George put on a stick smile. "I'll remember that one."

Harry replaced his scimitar. 

Meanwhile, Ron had quietly approached Hermione as she was loading the launcher. Softly to her, he said, "Remember to. . .to keep it tight. . .on your shoulder, lead the target. . .a little, and, uh. . .squeeze the trigger, don't. . .don't pull it."

Hermione laid a gentle hand on her husband's shoulder. "I won't miss."

He leaned in exceptionally close and wrapped her in a deep kiss. After a moment he abruptly broke away and started off without a word, but Hermione understood.

~*~

Along the jungle where Jaakko's caravan, on foot now, continued trooping along, they continued on past more skeletons, but the mummy led them right on past. Jordan who had inadvertently lurched backwards with a groan, upon seeing a particularly grotesque one, had broken Malfoy's patience.

"Now may I kill him?" He said to Snape.

Snape turned to Jaakko, and in ancient Egyptian, "My lord, now that we have reached Yané Seek, there is no need for the Weasley boy."

"Yes, but we need the bracelet. It will unlock the Army of Arana," the mummy replied.

"It is the key?" Snape said incredulously. To Malfoy, he said in plain English, "Retrieve that bracelet."

Malfoy grinned evilly, and turned in the direction of young Jordan, trying to find the small boy in the long caravan.

Jordan saw Malfoy coming towards him, seeing his smile, and knew what it meant. He was going to die. He tried bolting to one side, but to no avail; another dark robes minion had latched onto his arm. 

Then, in the heat of the night, quietness of the jungle, a whispering breeze ruffled through the procession, stopping Malfoy, Snape, the minions, and even Jaakko himself in their tracks.

"What is wrong?" Cat-a-la-lina asked her lord.

But it was Snape who answered, swallowing uneasily as the breeze drifted through the caravan again, and said, "Something. . .is coming."

~*~

To Be Continued


	8. Jungle Fever

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Seven

-dutchtulips-

Ron, who had a fair sense of direction - that, and the Four Point Spell - was trekking alongside Harry through the jungle, quietly sneaking through and going where the path led them. Hermione, Fred, and George were still poised on the rocks above, spotting for signs of Jaakko's caravan. 

Soon the two friends broke out into a quick run, with their weapons at the ready. They were closing in quickly on the mummy's procession, listening in the distance for any of them.

Up ahead, the caravan was responding to unearthly wind. Malfoy, who had been interrupted in his slaying of Jordan, now suddenly yelled out to the minions, "Eyes wide! Weapons up!"

The young Weasley watched as the dark robed men spread out through the foliage, scimitars and wands drawn, anticipating the fore coming battle. One of the minions backed up against a tree, and then looked down to see the skeleton of a pygmy child lying there. He approached it cautiously, and then, without warning, it sprang to life, jumping on the warrior, and sank its spear into the man.

His scream trailed away as he died, alerting Ron and Harry, who were coming up fast, and the remaining Weasleys - explosive launchers at the ready - in the rocks. Now more of the child sized pygmies were reawakening, pulling minions under the tall grass quicker than they had time to scream.

"Where's the boy?" Jordan heard Malfoy shout, seeing a scimitar only a few yards away, slicing through the grass. Horrified, the eight-year-old managed to break free from the grasp of the minion holding him. Jordan bolted through the jungle, not quite sure where he was going, but just knew he had to get away.

Meanwhile, Ron and Harry had bounded onto the scene, taking out pygmies and members of the now awry dark-robed troops, with spells from their wands, strikes from their scimitars, and the hurling of their magic explosives. Warriors were still going down in the grass - the pygmy mummies were still at large - and as for Jordan. . .

He could barely glimpse his uncles and mother higher above the chaos, taking out the dark robed warriors who were a part of Jaakko's caravan, and whom in which, along with Cat-a-la-lina, Jordan noticed had disappeared from sight as soon as the commotion had started. But along with the minions, the eight-year-old boy could also see Malfoy, slowly coming in from the kill.

"Dad!" Jordan yelled.

Malfoy backed the youngster against a tree, and raising his scimitar, said, "Time to remove that bracelet, my good son."

Jordan knew his father was among the bedlam, he'd caught a glimpse of him earlier. "Dad!" He cried out, much louder this time.

The next second, the boy had been swept off the ground and tossed over a shoulder. "Dad!" He breathed thankfully, gripping Ron's shoulder tight. 

Meanwhile, Hermione, Fred, and George were still taking out the warriors up above, and where Jordan had just been whisked away from -

Harry raised his scimitar at Malfoy. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" He said, and the two picked up where they'd left off last time, parrying and striking viciously.

Ron was sprinting through the jungle, Jordan still flung over his shoulder. They had basically gotten away from the bedlam now, but as the youngster looked back, he could see two of the pygmies coming towards them.

"Dad! Behind us!" He called out.

Ron spun around and drew his wand, quickly taking out the minute mummies with a quick spell. They exploded, sending bone fragments all over. But Ron and Jordan were already off again, racing through the jungle.

Meanwhile, Harry and Malfoy were still exchanging blocks and blows, their duel in full swing. It seemed to go on and on, the _shing_ of their scimitars hitting each others, until, finally, Harry saw an opening and took it - slashing a deep wound across Malfoy's chest.

Stunned, he fell to his knees while Harry stood over him, saying, "That - was for Hedwig." And then he watched as his lifelong enemy fell to the ground without a word, dead.

One last dark robed warrior was closing in on Harry, his wand at the ready, to take down the Auror chieftain, until - he was shot down by a magic explosive launcher high up in the rocks.

Harry and Hermione curtly exchanged nods, and then he was gone, rushing up through the jungle.

She looked over at Fred and George, who were reloading. "Finish up there, and let's go," she said, slinging the weapon over her shoulder and taking the lead down from the rocks. She dropped down into a small clearing, the twins right behind her.

"Mum!" 

Hermione turned to see Jordan running towards her. Beaming, she scooped her son up into her arms and gave him a huge hug. "Jordan!"

Ron smiled and turned to his brothers. "Nice shootin', guys!"

Fred wiped sweat off his brow as George said, "Ghastly work, killing people. Where's Harry?"

"He's gone off the gather the other Aurors. Good luck to him," Ron said, a bit wistfully.

"What were those things down there?" George wanted to know.

"Nothing, nothing. Just the local natives," Ron replied, holstering his wand.

Hermione had just put down Jordan, who was now tugging at them all, exclaiming, "Come on, you guys, come on! I have to get this bracelet off now!"

"Oi, leave it on Jordan, it looks good on you," Fred replied, eyeing the heavy golden armlet on his nephew's wrist.

"No, you guys, you don't understand! He told me it will kill me if I don't get inside the golden pyramid before the sun hits it - today!" The eight-year-old cried.

"Oh, my God," Hermione uttered.

It was faint at first, but then the hissing began once more. The zombies were back, and hungry again. "Time to go!" Ron yelled.

The Weasley party tore off through the jungle, the pygmies hot on their trail. Hermione and the twins hurled their launchers at them to slow them down, and kept running. They dashed into thicker foliage, and somewhere along the way, Fred and George got separated from the bunch.

They hadn't noticed until several moments later. "Where are the twins?" Hermione called out.

Meanwhile, Fred and George collided with one of the dark robed minions and the three started running together, as the zombies were slowly closing in. "Hey, a burial ground!" Fred yelled, pointing. 

They all ran for it. "We're safe!" Fred exclaimed. "See those sacred stones? They'll never cross those."

"Are you sure?" The warrior asked.

"Quite!" George jumped in.

But no sooner had said that when the pygmies saw them and sailed right over the ground and jumped on the nearest man - the warrior. One of the little zombies sunk his spear into the man, who instantly died.

"Frightfully sorry, old chap!" Fred yelled, and the twins began to run again.

Just then, Ron, Hermione, and Jordan were racing across a large log, and to the other side where there was another small clearing. Hermione saw the twins bringing up the rear and called out to them, "Hurry up, you two!"

"Wait for us! Wait for us!" George yelped as he and Fred dashed across the log and to safety. Fred took note of Ron, who was fishing inside the front of his robes and pulled out his last magic explosive. He quickly lit it and lobbed across the log where a mass of pygmies were dashing across.

One of them caught it and waved it in the air behind itself as the others followed after, only for it to explode, and so severely that it snapped the log into two and it tumbled down into the ravine, taking all of the zombies with it.

"Nasty little buggers," George quipped.

Hermione, who had been catching her breath, suddenly looked up. Something had caught her eye and she froze. "Ron."

He looked up. From the clearing they could make out, poking over the trees - the diamond tip of the golden pyramid, and to the east, the sun was slowly peeking from under the horizon.

"Let's go, Jordan!" Ron grabbed his son's hand and they tore off in the direction of the pyramid. They ran and ran, dodging the foliage, through clearings and underbrush, as the sun's haze chased them to the pyramid. 

Jordan stumbled on the undergrowth. "Dad," he moaned, his stomach cramped in pain, "I can't -"

Ron immediately picked his son up off the ground and tore off once more, zigzagging in between trees, and then reached a small sandy clearing, leading towards the golden pyramid. Ron could feel the sunlight at his heels, and he hurled himself and Jordan through the structure's entryway - 

Half a second later, the sunlight sparkled the diamond tip, and the entire golden pyramid flashed with blinding reflected sunlight. 

In a heap on the temple floor lay father and son, panting and utterly exhausted. Ron smiled and hugged Jordan, thanking his God. "You know, it's not. . .easy being a. . .dad."

"Yeah, but you do it really good," the youngster replied.

"Thanks," he panted, collapsing again, his arms still around his son.

Suddenly there was a sharp click, and the Bracelet of Arana dropped off Jordan's wrist. He regarded it for a moment, and then flung it away as if the object were not beyond price. Ron watched it sail across the temple, and then embraced Jordan again. 

Hermione, Fred, and George, who had tried their best to keep after Ron and Jordan, were now approaching the clearing, and could see that father and son had won their race against the sun.

Hermione let out a breath. "They made it! Oh, thank God."

But there was a sound from behind her, and as she turned around, Hermione didn't have time to react - as a scimitar was plunged into her stomach! She looked up with astonished eyes and into her attacker's, whom was a woman - Cat-a-la-lina!

Jaakko, with some inhuman strength, lifted each Fred and George and hurled them across the clearing. Enraged, they sat up and shook sand from their clothes, and saw their beautiful sister-in-law crumpling over and clutching her stomach. Blood was oozing from her fingertips.

Ron screamed and dashed forward towards his wife, as the reincarnated paramour and regenerated mummy strode away, and up inside the vast golden pyramid. 

He dove to his knees and landed at Hermione's side, staring into her lovely face, which was now twisted with pain and fear. A voice sounded behind him.

"She's going to be all right, isn't she, Dad?" Jordan pleaded.

"Fred, George, take him back, away from this. . ." 

The twins immediately obliged.

Ron turned back to Hermione, gently pulling her blouse back to see her wound - which was gushing deep scarlet, obviously mortal.

"Oh, oh God. . ." He moaned, staring at the blood. He looked back into his wife's eyes. "What do I do, 'Mione? What do I do?" Ron's face was contorting with agony.

Hermione's eyes were sad as she managed to whisper, "T-take care of Jordan."

Swallowing, Ron held her and smoothed her hair affectionately. "Baby, no. . .no."

She summoned her last bit of strength and said, "I love you."

He touched her face as her eyes fell close, and as a sickness grew in the pit of his being, Ron realized she had died. "Come back, 'Mione. . .come back. . .please. . ."

Jordan, who had be looking on, suddenly hugged his uncles tight, and Fred and George returned it gratefully, feeling the youngster's pain. 

~*~

To Be Continued


	9. The Disappearing Oasis

****

The Wizard Returns

Chapter Eight

-dutchtulips-

Within the temple, near one the entryways, a black haired man bent over to pick up the Bracelet of Arana, which Jordan had carelessly tossed away. His eyes aglow, Snape snatched up the wristlet and turned around, dashing down a staircase leading into another chamber.

Elsewhere in the golden pyramid, Lord Jaakko was striding regally down the limestone staircase in an adjoining room. The lovely Cat-a-la-lina was at his side, the brass-hinged_ Book of the Dead_ tucked under her arm. 

Reaching the bottom, the regenerated mummy did not see a large golden crest of a dragon at the base of the stairs, and therefore stepped right on it. Energy surged through him, crackling, seizing the copper-skinned man by a spasm.

Cat-a-la-lina, whom had not stepped on the crest, hopped to one side, watching in horror as Jaakko howled in rage, the blue bolts of energy pulsating through him. 

And then, as if a switch had been turned off, the commotion abruptly ceased, leaving the regenerated mummy leaning against a nearby column. The paramour jumped forward. "What happened, my love?"

He raised his arms as if to lift the column he was leaning against, but it only wobbled and then completely refrained from moving altogether. He let out a breath. "It seems as if the great god Arana has taken my powers from me. I believe he wishes for the Dragon King and myself to fight as equals."

Cat-a-la-lina could only stare at her lord.

~*~

Ron kneeled to his son's level, and hugged Jordan tightly. They didn't exchange any words this time; both knowing what the other was thinking and feeling. When the youngster finally let go, his father looked at him for a moment, and said simply, "Stay here."

He got to his feet. Merely nodding curtly to Fred and George, Ron clutched his scimitar and started for the pyramid. As the twins watched, both of them had never seen before the cold fury in their younger brother's eyes. It was such a stone-hard expression that it made them almost feel sorry for who would be on the receiving end of Ron's vengeance.

Almost.

~*~

Jaakko and Cat-a-la-lina strode up a corridor and into a small clearing, where up ahead was an eerie, mist-shrouded doorway. He tossed off his cloak. "I must face the Dragon King alone!"

"No!" Cat-a-la-lina exclaimed. "Without your powers he might kill you!"

He plucked the obsidian book from her hands. "It matters not! It is our destiny!"

"_NO_!" She yelped, slamming the book on a pedestal behind her. Cat-a-la-lina flung herself into Jaakko's arms. "I don't want to lose you again."

They kissed deeply, she sealing it with desperation. He broke away suddenly and dashed through the doorway with the paramour yelling after him, "_Niiiy!"_

~*~

Snape, who was now wearing the Bracelet of Arana, was walking slowly through the golden chambers. Soon, he was in the key room itself, and a large bas-relief dragon was sculpted into the wall.

A large round hole was in the center - Snape could only guess. Without hesitating, he shoved his arm up through the hole and turned it, as if it truly were a key. And then suddenly a hissing sound emanated from within, washing the entire temple in flashing gold.

Not too far away, Ron was approaching, and he could see Snape with his arm up the hole in the center of the bas-relief dragon. Snape saw him as well, and yelled out, "You're too late, Weasley! I have released the Army of Arana! Lord Jaakko shall soon take command!"

Ron grimaced and pulled out his scimitar. "Not after I get through with him."

Suddenly, from within the keyhole, something grabbed Snape's arm hard, as if trying to suck it deeper into the hole. He screamed loudly, and a few moments later withdrew his arm to reveal nothing but some fragments of bone, which was what was left of his hand, and the bracelet gone.

Ron backed out of the key room, heading down another corridor, in search of just one particular regenerated mummy.

~*~

Fred, George, and Jordan were sitting in the sand; the twins on either side of the youngster, trying to restrain themselves, Jordan freely weeping quietly, face in his hands.

George, who had passed the Scepter of Ibis over to his brother, brushed the eight-year-old's shoulder. "Just try to think of it like this, Jordan. She's gone to a better place. You know, like it says in the Good Book, 'For He so loved the world -' "

Suddenly he bolted up. "The Book. . .that's it! Uncle Fred, Uncle George, that's it! The Book! The Book!" Jordan pulled them to their feet. "C'mon, get Mum!"

~*~

Beyond the lushly green Yané Seek, the desolation of the desert waited, and below the Sahara sun also waited three thousand Auror warriors on hippogriffs. Their twelve commanders were perched in the front, lingered. 

Residing among them was the Auror chieftain, Harry Potter. As he and the others drew their scimitars, there was a slow rumbling, and a second later, nearly a thousand dog-headed warriors spewed from the sands. With that, thousands of hippogriffs raced forward, ready for the battle ahead.

~*~

Moving down a tunnel-like golden corridor within the pyramid were Fred, who was carrying the Scepter of Ibis, George, who was carrying the lithe form of Hermione, and Jordan, holding his lit wand in front and leading the way.

"You realize this can only be performed by someone who can read in ancient Egyptian," Fred said softly.

Jordan didn't answer. When they reached a fork in the corridor, the youngster suddenly waved his wand above him, and then proclaimed, "We go right."

"How do you know?" George inquired.

The eight-year-old pointed to a set of hieroglyphics on the wall above. "See that there? Basically, it says 'This way to the Dragon King.' " He paused and glanced over at Hermione. "Mum taught me." Without hesitating, Jordan started down passageway.

Fred and George glanced at each for a moment, and said in unison, "This just might work."

~*~

Ron, scimitar at the ready, was now creeping into an anteroom, which was brilliantly gold as well. He could hear a loud gong from somewhere further in the chamber, and decided to chance his way in further. Jaakko was there, wherever 'there' was, and Ron was going to make him pay. Hermione was dead. . .and it was all that creature's fault.

The fury in him increased as he slipped into the next chamber. He could see Jaakko there, across a wide moat, banging a large mallet against a vast bronze gong. Ron made a run for it, taking a flying leap over the moat. Immediately when he landed, the limestone floor shook.

Jaakko directly halted from hitting the gong and stared directly at Ron. The redhead didn't waste any time; he dove forward, driving his scimitar forward. Jaakko immediately reacted; he swung the mallet up to block the blow.

Ron, sweat beading at his brow, viciously veered his scimitar back up again, straining to knock the mallet from his opponent's hands. A heartbeat later, both weapons went sailing from their owners hands and into the moat. 

Ron simply looked back at the regenerated mummy and threw a right hook into his face. The force sent Jaakko sprawling into a statue. He reached up and drew a dirk from the statue's arms and started forward. The redhead jumped backward where another statue resided, and snatched its dirk as well. He swung it outward, catching the first of Jaakko's heavy blows.

~*~

Fred, George, and Jordan had just slipped from the passageway and crept into a small clearing, where a dark-haired woman stood, her back to them, standing in front of a creepy doorway, staring in. Quietly as a mouse, George lowered Hermione's lifeless form on the limestone floor some ways away, and rejoined Fred. Jordan hung back, waiting for the right moment.

"Hey, you wench! Come'ere and take your medicine!" Fred shouted at the woman.

Cat-a-la-lina twirled around, her black hair swinging behind her. She stared at the twins for a moment, who were slowly advancing on her. She stepped forward, away from the pedestal where she'd put _The Book of the Dead_, and a moment later, Jordan popped up from behind it and grabbed the obsidian volume, sneaking off with it.

The paramour suddenly lashed out with a roundhouse kick, taking both Fred and George down. The twins scrambled back up to their feet, but the expert warrior, from nowhere, swung a large spear at them. In a futile effort, Fred took out the Scepter of Ibis and veered it hard against Cat-a-la-lina's spear.

"Hurry up, Jordan!" George yelled out.

Across the room, sitting next to his mother, Jordan had _The Book of the Dead_ opened wide and spread across his lap. His fingers traced over the hieroglyphics as he read words from the ancient tongue. "_Hootash naraba oos Veesloo_," the youngster read diligently. "_Ahm kum ra. . .Ahm kum dei. . ._"

Fred had managed to swat the spear from Cat-a-la-lina's hands, but not before she'd slashed both him and George across the chest, leaving a band of scarlet. Despite the pain, Fred grinned as he watched the spear spin out of sight. 

But the battle wasn't over yet. From a nearby statue, Cat-a-la-lina withdrew two hand tridents and charged forward, ready to open the twins' wounds wider. Fred still had the scepter, and he jumped forward to try and bat her new weapons away as well. George, however, was unarmed and leapt back in desperation.

Jordan's voice suddenly could be heard. "_Efday Shokran. . .Efday Shokran. . ._" He sighed in disgust. "Uncle Fred! Uncle George! I don't know what this last symbol is!"

George had managed to find the lost spear, and had dived forward alongside Fred. He yelled out, adding a blow to the paramour's trident, "What does it look like?"

The eight-year-old stared at it a moment. "It's a big bird - you know, like a stork!"

Cat-a-la-lina, who had been winning the fight, suddenly fell short as her wide swing missed, allowing Fred to yell out, "_Ahmenophus_!"

Jordan looked back at the hieroglyphics and his eyes lit up. "That's it! _Efday Shokran Ahmenophus!_" He glanced up from the book and down at his mother, and the boy's eyes grew wider as a golden glow emitted from Hermione.

Meanwhile, the paramour had knocked George's spear away and was just diving forward towards both he and Fred, ready to spill their blood from her tridents, but abruptly someone snatched her arms and yanked her backwards, pulling Fred and George out of harm's way.

The twins got to their feet and looked to see who had saved them, and was shocked when their eyes landed on - Hermione! Her silk white robes were torn here and there and her hair was somewhat askew, but the wound in her stomach was gone - and there she was, alive as day!

Sneering at Cat-a-la-lina, Hermione said, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The paramour, shocked to see her alive, bent over to retrieve her weapons as Hermione turned to the twins and Jordan. "Fred, George. Take Jordan - go and help Ron."

"But -"

"No. Do as I say." Hermione reached over to another statue and plucked a pair of tridents for herself. Staring at Cat-a-la-lina, she said firmly, "I'll be just fine."

The trio trotted off into the gloomy doorway ahead, leading into the next cavern, with Jordan exclaiming, "We did it! We did it!"

"Jolly good show!" Fred said with a grin. "Now let's go help your dad!"

~*~

Ron felt winded but knew he couldn't give up. With every blow he struck against Jaakko, he thought of how glad he'd be when it was all over, and felt renewed determination. But Ron was lastly starting to wear down. Mind over matter was beginning to feel futile. 

Jaakko crashed his dirk against Ron's, and the force sent the redhead backwards and against a column. He groaned from the pain, but as the regenerated mummy strode towards him, Ron jumped up and, pain forgotten, swung his dirk viciously foward, this time knocking Jaakko backwards.

The battle raged on. At one point, Jaakko hopped backwards, avoiding a blow of Ron's, and said, in ancient Egyptian, "So you wish to kill me? You wish to take control of Arana's army and sent them back to the Underworld? This I cannot allow." He swung his weapon hard.

Ron caught it, using all of his strength to force the mummy back again. Locked in grapple, dirks pressed against each others, the battle continued to commence, but not for long. . .as the wooden doors ahead burst themselves open, and a cloud of black vapor emitted from within. . .

. . .And a dark hued warrior suddenly appeared, its top half the look of a regular man, but the lower half revealed the scaly, immense body of an extremely grotesque reptile, and alas, the Dragon King really _was_ a dragon.

Ron and Jaakko, their battle forgotten, dropped their dirks at the sight of this two-bodied beast, as it lunged forward, overseeing all that was before him.

~*~

Out beyond the oasis, the battle between the Auror warriors and Arana's troops was raging continuously. Harry, still atop his hippogriff, galloped forward, slicing his scimitar through the air and taking down Arana combatant after Arana combatant, all while the thousands of his fellow Auror knights swarmed around him, defeating the evil warriors as well.

Before long, the grim combat had lastly finished, Harry himself, taking off the head of the last Arana warrior. All around, the Auror warriors began cheering, hopping down from their hippogriffs. 

Harry stooped to catch his breath, and wiped some blood from his face. He looked out among the sands, his mind still racing. It seemed to have ended earlier than he would have believed. Surely the Dragon King had something else up his sleeve. . .

A distant hum alerted Harry, and without another thought, he raced through the warriors, ahead of the procession, to see what was could be coming next. . .and his thoughts were proven correct as his sharp green eyes shot across the landscape, nearly a mile off, was another band of Arana's army careening towards them, perhaps at least six thousand combatants of the undead army.

Now it was the Aurors whom were outnumbered, and it hardly seemed to Harry that they could win this war. . .but his bravery and determination was boiled inside of him, and he raised his scimitar, yelling, as his fellow warriors roared in agreement, " 'Til death!" 

~*~

Hermione and Cat-a-la-lina, like two cats, were slowly circling each other, tridents clasped in their grips. They were both waiting for the other's attack, and, seeing that this was the case, the paramour stopped, saying regally, "Maricarmen."

Hermione expertly twirled her tridents about her wrists, and held them at her hips. In the same tone, "Cat-a-la-lina."

"Good." The paramour thrashed forward, and the two continued a duel that had began over three thousand years ago. No masks, this time around, it was much more vicious. Expert blows were thrown back and forth, clangs of metal against metal from their tridents, punches, kicks, and expert dives even winding their way in. Relentlessly they fought, no prowess, nor smidgen of hatred for the other having been lost over the centuries. 

Finally Cat-a-la-lina saw an opening, and shoved Hermione back against a column, tridents dimpling her throat, and smirked, saying in ancient Egyptian, "I see you have remembered the old ways."

Hermione surged up a burst of strength and head-butted the paramour. Diving forward, she exclaimed in the same language, "That's a little something new!"

A loud slam and the clang of metal sent both of Cat-a-la-lina's tridents skittering across the limestone floor, and she was left with a scarlet slash on the side of her face, courtesy of Hermione's trident.

That was when Cat-a-la-lina sprinted off and through the mist-shrouded doorway, knowing she'd been defeated. But Hermione clutched her tridents and took off after the paramour, chasing her up through the corridor and into the cavern beyond.

~*~

The Dragon King continued to sweep his vile gaze over the room, his eyes finally resting on Jaakko. But the regenerated mummy had already dashed off and, as the Dragon King advanced on him, he tossed his dirk away and sank to his knees. "I am your disciple!"

The beast stopped in his tracks, snapping his claws. Smoke drifted from his nostrils and he growled, "We shall see."

Jaakko looked over at Ron. "But _he_ was sent to kill you!"

The Dragon King opened his mouth and a ball of red fire shot from his throat, and he took off after Ron. The redhead dropped his dirk and dashed off, as the beast was hot on his heals. 

Stumbling into the cavern, almost out of nowhere, appeared Snape, moaning and clutching the remnants of his hand. He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing Ron being chased by the immense half-dragon, half-man. The redhead dropped down from sight, leaving Snape with the Dragon King. 

Without thinking twice, the beast gathered Snape into his vast claw, and crawled away up onto the wall. The black-haired man was yelling for Jaakko to save him, but the regenerated mummy didn't seem to hear. . .or care?. . .and a second later, the Dragon King was sending fragments of the Snape's corpse across the chamber.

Meanwhile, where Ron had slipped away, he had stumbled onto an obsidian wall, revealing a life sized cartouche of an Egyptian warrior, bearing the same tattoo on his wrist as Ron's! 

As the redhead continued to study the mural, it showed the tattooed warrior hefting a weapon, one that Ron recognized as the Scepter of Ibis, although instead of looking like just a staff, it had been revealed as a long and sharp golden spear! As the cartouche continued, the warrior was hurling the weapon into a massive beast - whom, strangely enough, resembled the Dragon King! In the final part, the monster was hunched over on the ground, dead.

Ron's eyes were wide. "Okay. . .now I'm a believer."

"Ron!"

He dove out from the obsidian wall and immediately saw Fred, George, and Jordan, coming up fast. Yelling out to them, "Hey! That gold stick thing! You guys, it's a spear!"

Fred, who was toting the Scepter of Ibis, looked down, examining it for a moment, and shouted back, "It doesn't look like a spear!"

"That's because it opens up into one!" Ron yelled. He looked back, seeing that the Dragon King was getting closer. "Fred! It opens up. . .into. . .a spear!"

The Dragon King's claw came swiftly down, hitting Ron and sending him into some rocks. He groaned for a moment from the pain, seeing Fred and George, who were struggling to open the scepter into the spear. 

Looking up into the beast's face, Ron twisted, its claw stabbing the limestone between his legs. His breath was growing ragged, he didn't know how much longer he could go on. . .

"_Ron_!"

His neck snapped up and he saw, in the rocky corridor, Hermione standing there. 

" 'Mione?" He shouted back, hope, relief, and happiness flooding into him. _She's alive, Hermione's alive!_ His brain screamed at him. 

Feeling renewed determination, Ron leapt to his feet and dodged the Dragon King's assault, right when Jordan reached up inbetween his uncles' hands, twisted one end of the scepter to the right, and out shot a long sharp tip from both ends. The twins stared, while Jordan just looked proud of himself. 

"Fred, George! Kill the Dragon King! Sent his army back to the Underworld!" Hermione exclaimed. Cat-a-la-lina took advantage of the distraction and pushed her back against the wall, Hermione's tridents slipping from her grasp.

"Stand back, Jordan!" George said, hefting the weapon, "I'm a professional!" He lobbed it forward, aiming straight for the Dragon King, but a hand deftly snatched it from the air. 

Jaakko clutched the weapon, roaring in triumph. "And now the Army of Arana shall be mine!" He shouted, hurling the Scepter of Ibis directly for the Dragon King. 

He and Ron were still struggling across the moat, and as Hermione screamed out for him, Ron saw the scepter flying straight for the beast. Summoning a burst of strength he didn't know he had, Ron made a fantastic leap, snatching the scepter out of the air, leaving Jaakko bellowing in rage.

The Dragon King started for Ron again, but now he had the Scepter of Ibis, and now felt as if nothing could stop him. As the beast advanced on him, backing him closer to the moat, Ron swung his arm back and sent the scepter straight up through the Dragon King, piercing his heart. 

"Go to hell and take your army with you!" The redhead shouted, pushing the weapon in deeper.

Jaakko hung on the other side of the moat, screaming in fury, and did so even louder as the Dragon King exploded into a thick black vapor.

~*~

Back on the desert, where the three thousand Auror warriors and their chieftain Harry Potter waited for the onrushing army, stared on as, a second before contact with the combatants, the six thousand of them exploded into a black haze, drifting over the warriors and lastly disappearing. 

The thousands of them were all quiet for a long moment, contemplating what had happened, but Harry had already erupted into a triumphant cry, happy and amazed to be alive, and even more happy and amazed that the Army of Arana was gone at last.

~*~

All at once, in the cavern below were the party was residing, the whole place began quaking violently, throwing gigantic boulders from the ceiling and bringing down statues that were against the walls. 

Two hands suddenly slapped against the rock at the edge of the moat, struggling to pull the rest of its body up. Jaakko's head emerged, and he yanked himself up desperately to try and get out of the moat, fighting against the awful quaking.

A moment later, a second pair of hands appeared - this one different, this one bearing a wedding ring on its left hand - and was doing the same as Jaakko. He strained his muscles and pulled harder, and then his head surfaced.

"_Ron_!" Hermione yelled as she affixed herself against the shaking wall.

Ron caught sight of her. " 'Mione! Go! Just get out of here! Take Jordan and go while you can!"

She shook her head violently. _No, no_! "No, Ron, no!"

"Just go!" He yelled again, and then his hand slipped.

"Hold on, Little Brother!" Fred shouted nearby.

Hermione looked over at Cat-a-la-lina, who was also looking terrified for the man she loved, Jaakko, and didn't have to think twice. She bolted from her spot on the floor, dodging massive boulders with every step and every turn, until finally, she flung her body forward and landed on her stomach, and latched onto Ron's arm, pulling him up.

When she'd finally got him to his feet, Ron grabbed Hermione quickly and pulled the two of them back against a tall column support, just nearby where the twins and Jordan stood. 

Jaakko's eyes shot toward Cat-a-la-lina, who was still in the rocky crevice, and yelled out desperately, "Cat-a-la-lina! Save me, please! Please help me!"

She stared at him for a long moment as he continued with his pleas, made a move towards him, but changed her mind at the last moment and ran back up the corridor, screaming, "_Niiiiy!_"

Jaakko's eyes filled with despair and disbelief. "Cat-a-la-lina?" He said tearfully. Looking over at Ron and Hermione, who were still huddled together against the column, he merely let go of the crevice and plunged down into the moat.

The party of five then bolted up through the rocky corridor and flung themselves around a corner, where lush foliage and even an occasional pygmy were being sucked up through the corridors of the golden pyramid. 

~*~

Meanwhile, Cat-a-la-lina - or was she Pansy now? - had bolted back up through the antechamber, taking a different route than the Weasleys. She found herself tittering at the edge of a winding moat, filled with some sort of black bog. She tried to catch herself, but it was no use. The next minute, she'd tumbled into the black pitch, and it slowly sucked her underneath its surface.

~*~

The Weasleys, who were now racing up a staircase, abruptly found themselves standing on the outside ledges of the pyramid, where they could, below them, see that The Oasis of Yané Seek was being pulled underneath the desert. 

"This whole place is going to get sucked up!" Ron exclaimed. "C'mon, let's move up!"

Ron, Hermione, Jordan, Fred, and George all began to scale the tall golden outcroppings of the pyramid, climbing higher and higher as the oasis was being pulled underneath quicker and quicker.

Finally they'd reached the top, where the statue of the dragon holding the largest dimaond known to humanity in its claws, and realized that hadn't anywhere else to go. 

Hermione grabbed onto her husband and her son. "Ron, we're trapped!"

The redhead, trying to catch his breath, was at a loss for words. He just hugged his family tight and prayed inside of his head.

"Oi, there, need a lift?" 

Ron's neck snapped up, along with everyone else's, and saw, floating above them, Seamus in his blue dirigible. 

"Hurry up, hurry up!" Seamus snapped. "I haven't got all day!" 

The next moment, Ron was boosting Jordan up into the battered trawler, and then giving Hermione a hand next. He started to climb up last, alongside Fred and George, and had just gotten onboard when George accidently slipped off the side, missing the lip of the trawler, but luckily catching his ankle in the fishing net.

"Pull me up, pull me up!" He shouted to Fred, but then noticed below him, the diamond sparkling in the sunlight. "No, wait! Let me down!"

"It's not worth your life, you stupid git!" Ron yelled, helping Fred yank George back on the trawler. 

"Yes, it is!" George stretched with everything he had, and finally managed to crack to diamond of its perch, just as Seamus kicked the throttle, sending the dirigible up, up, and out.

From his upside-down position, George could see the pyramid and the rest of the oasis being overwhelmed by the desert, and the next second it was completely sucked underneath the sand, and was gone. 

"What, no burp?" He said facetiously. 

Fred and Ron had Geroge back on the trawler a moment later, and twins went and hung at the bow, to relish in the ownership of the largest diamond in the world. 

"Weasley!" Seamus shouted. "You almost got me killed!"

Ron shrugged. "At least you didn't get hexed."

The pilot didn't answer, for he was already being overwhelmed by a large hug from Hermione. "Oh, Seamus, thank you! Thank you!" She hugged him a moment longer, and then dropped off the captain's cabin to embrace Jordan.

"What have you been up to, anyways?" Seamus wanted to know.

"Oh, you know. Mummies, pygmies, big nasty dragon guy," Ron replied. He looked over the lip of the trawler, smiled, and motioned for Hermione. "Look."

Below, out on the sands, Harry was there, atop a hippogriff, smiling up at them. He clutched his heart and regally bowed his head. 

Ron returned the gesture, smiling at his tattoo as he drew his hand away. Rejoining Hermione, he said, "I thought I almost lost you there."

She stared into his eyes. "For a moment, you had." She smiled as his arm went around her. "Would you like to know what Heaven looks like?"

"I already know," he whispered, leaning forward to catch her in a deep, passionate kiss.

Jordan, Fred and George all groaned, saying in unison, "Oh, please. . ."

At the wheel, Seamus throttled up, sending the blimp off into the sunset. "Half that diamond's mine you know. You took my golden staff."

Fred and George looked up. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

As they drew out a long argument, Ron and Hermione merely wrapped their arms around each other tighter, blocking out everyone else. They were indeed heroes after all.

****

el fin 


End file.
